Washington, DC - The DC Children and Youth Investment Trust Corporation (the Trust) announced today that it is awarding $62,500 in new grants to two nonprofit organizations to engage older youth in Southeast DC and to make business corridors safer in Columbia Heights/Shaw.

A $35,000 grant is going to East of the River Clergy, Police, Community Partnership to hire two outreach workers to engage youth in the Woodland Terrace neighborhood in Southeast DC. In recent months, more than five fatal shooting deaths and a spate of invasions of elderly residents’ homes have occurred in that neighborhood. The outreach workers will refer neighborhood youth to community partners for services. A $27,500 grant is being awarded to Columbia Heights/Shaw Family Support Collaborative to support an effort to make business areas and neighborhoods safer in the Columbia Heights, Shaw and Gallery Place areas. An outreach worker will employ strategies to prevent retaliation after violent incidents and will coordinate gang/crew and individual mediations to restore community justice. The outreach worker also will make sure young people and their families are referred for various services.

The two grants are part of the Trust's continuing support of the Citywide Coordinating Council for Youth Violence Prevention (CCCYVP) initiative, with funds from DC Council. The CCCYVP’s goal is to reduce youth violence by intervening in youth’s lives in a positive way.

“We believe these grants will help engage young people in meaningful activities and ultimately will make some of the District’s toughest neighborhoods safer,” said Ellen London, president and CEO of the Trust. “We saw a decrease in gang and crew activity this summer in the District, and these grants will help continue that positive trend.  We have seen very positive results from a growing number of community-based providers tackling these very difficult issues.”

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