Susan Brooks
Many of you joined us in Indianapolis, IN, for the FY 2004 Application Kit Workshop and the Power of Prevention Regional Meeting last July. We were pleased that more than 400 people from around the country participated in workshops, visited our Weed and Seed sites, and attended the Indianapolis Networking Reception hosted by the city of Indianapolis at the NCAA Hall of Champions. In addition to having the privilege of welcoming Weed and Seed partners to the conference, we recognized our three former sites that have graduated from Weed and Seed funding but continue to remain active in implementing their strategies. We were so fortunate that Sue Webber-Brown, the heart and soul of an emerging national movement to protect drug-endangered children (DEC), spoke to us about the many risks associated with clandestine drug labs and the dangers to children particularly. Ms. Webber-Brown inspired all communities to join the national movement to better coordinate between law enforcement, social services, medical services, and the courts to protect our most innocent victims by implementing DEC protocols in their jurisdictions. I'd like to thank our local planning committee headed up by our three active sites Steering Committee Chairs—Olgen Williams of Westside, Rachel Cooper of SUMO, and Charles Roseburgh of CNN—and acknowledge the leadership of our LECC, Joe Wainscott. The site coordinators, Indianapolis Police Department Grant Unit, the Mayor's Office, and other committee members did an outstanding job of coordinating local resources and added an "Indianapolis flavor" to the conference. Besides the usual coordination, providing workshops and site visits, they welcomed new site coordinators by hosting small dinners at local restaurants at the conclusion of the site coordinator training on the first day. I hope you felt their genuine love for their neighborhoods and their passion for the powerful nature of the Weed and Seed strategy. Weed and Seed is near and dear to my heart, having begun my work with this highly collaborative community-based initiative when I served as Deputy Mayor for Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith back in the late 1990s. Indianapolis has a long tradition with Weed and Seed going back to 1992; this strategy has produced truly successful results—lower crime rates and improved police/neighborhood partnerships. Weed and Seed has been a bipartisan effort. I am proud that Indianapolis continues to embrace the Weed and Seed strategy, regardless of which political party sits in the Mayor's Office. We have three former sites and three active sites, but we all work together to continue to search for new neighborhoods so we can extend this proven crime-fighting philosophy. As the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, I have the privilege of chairing the Attorney General's Advisory Committee's Subcommittee on issues involving the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), which includes Weed and Seed, LECC, and victim/witness issues. I have recently participated in two planning meetings under the direction of Deborah J. Daniels, Assistant Attorney General for OJP, to set the best course for the future of the Weed and Seed program over the next 3 years. Ms. Daniels, a former U.S. Attorney also from the Southern District of Indiana, was one of the original designers of the Weed and Seed concept and served as the first Executive Director. I am pleased to report that Weed and Seed is viewed as the flagship program for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) when it comes to crime prevention strategies. I am heartened that the longstanding success of Weed and Seed has been recognized by DOJ officials and will continue to grow and strengthen under the leadership of Director Nelson Hernandez and his new team. The Weed and Seed baton has been passed to this new team, but I have seen their belief in the philosophy, "Working Together Works!" See you in Los Angeles in 2005. |
