On December 7, the Lucas County commissioners awarded 10 grants to community-based organizations to fund projects and programs that support criminal justice reform.
Grant amounts of up to $10,000 are being awarded to advance the county’s efforts through the MacArthur Foundation Safety + Justice Challenge to address racial equity in the criminal justice system and safely reduce the local jail population.
“We are pleased to provide resources made available through our work on the Safety + Justice Challenge initiative to organizations that represent a diverse group of neighborhood coalitions and community stakeholders,” said Commissioner Tina Skeldon Wozniak
“The projects and programs selected for the first round of grants include both new and existing efforts ranging from the theater and the performing arts to mentoring, leadership, sporting initiatives. These are the first steps in a community-based approach to reduce the disparity of arrest in communities of color and address the racial disparity in our local jails.”
Community organizations and programs or projects to be funded are:
•Above and Beyond Care Behavioral Health, Inc., for the ABC Reentry Program;
•African American Police League to expand the Mentoring Program and Oral History Project;
•All-In Academy, Inc. for their youth mentoring program;
•Believe Center for the BCI Basketball League;
•CityPark League for the Helping Educate Restore Empower My Environment to engage neighborhoods in the targeted ZIP codes;
•Frederick Douglass Community Association to fund the Revitalizing the Community initiative project;
•Madd Poets Society, Inc. to fund Speak Up!, a performing arts program targeting youth impacted or potentially impacted by the criminal justice system;
•Pathway, Inc. for the Brothers United Fatherhood and Sisters United Motherhood programs;
•Salem Lutheran Church for a cooking school targeting at-risk youngsters of a parent who was or is currently incarcerated and provide community meals from this program, and
•Stand Up-Man Up for the Midnight Basketball League from March 4 through April 30, 2022.
Grants are being made available to community groups to create and implement innovative projects for criminal justice reform targeting the Toledo ZIP codes of 43604, 43607, 43608 and 43610.
Grant recipients were selected based on the ability of their projects and programs to deliver a community-based approach that addresses racial disparity in local jails and provides equitable solutions that enhance safety and justice.
