SALISBURY — The work in Salisbury’s West End community is far from over, but city officials and local nonprofits came together on Wednesday to celebrate what has been done so far through the Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Grant.

“We have seen a significant impact, and why do we see that impact? Because of the service providers and all that you guys have done with the community, including engagement. One of the best and one of my favorite pieces of engagement is the early intervention piece. And I myself have worked with several groups, and one group continuously, even though the summer grants have ended, I still go and meet with the youth. Continue that building of trust,” said Salisbury Police Chief P.J. Smith.

The celebration was held in the Hall Gym and highlighted local nonprofits and other organizations that participated in the Summer West End grant programs. The grants were given to organizations that participated in the “Summer Youth and Family Capacity Program” by developing youth- and family-focused initiatives.

“I’ve seen some of the programs during the summer, and just to see the smiles on the kids’ faces at some of the basketball camps or some of the other programs, that was really nice to see. Just seeing the neighborhood come together as one, I really appreciated getting to be a part of it. I know it was hard work, but the end result was the best result for the full community, and I’m proud that we made it happen,” said SPD Major Corey Brooks, who served as the BCJI coordinator.

As part of the celebration, representatives of the newly-formed West End Neighborhood Organization (WENO) announced that it had received nonprofit status from the state. The organization was formed utilizing start-up funding from the grant with the aim of creating a long-term organization that focuses on improving the neighborhood through beautification and other projects.

DeeDee Wright, the chairperson of the WENO board, said that they were focused on keeping the neighborhood “safe and vibrant” as well as “creating a walkable neighborhood.” One potential project Wright pointed to was the creation of a community garden at the Vanderford Basin, which has long been an eyesore and source of consternation in the neighborhood.

The grant is all about reducing violence and crime, but we also know that in order to do that, we must be able to get to the heart of those individuals. We have some programs that are coming up, programs and initiatives that are specific to people, partnering with Livingstone and partnering with Novant Health. We’re going to make these programs happen,” said WENO Board of Directors member Yvonne Dixon.

The celebration on Wednesday also provided a way for local nonprofits and organizations to network and speak about their efforts. In all, 23 organizations received funding through the West End Youth and Family Capacity Program, including:

• A Bridge 4 Kids, which provides a mentor program for children ages 5 through 17 on bullying, life skills and etiquette and provides them with daily evening meals.
• ApSeed Early Childhood Education to provide families with their signature touchpads that come preloaded with educational apps to educate and prepare children for kindergarten.
• Capstone Recovery Center, which provides a safe, faith-based environment for women who are affected by substance abuse and educates them and encourages them to lead their lives as fully-functional members of the community.
• Communities In Schools of Rowan County for the “My Future Me” summer program, aimed at combining career exploration, financial literacy, community involvement and a college tour to prepare high school students for a successful future comprehensively.
• Essie Academy for a seven-week summer program focused on STEM and entrepreneurship through studying hydroponics and aquaponics.
• Families and Communities Together, which provided both a reading, science and creative expression camp and a basketball and cheerleading camp.
• Families First – N.C. to provide comprehensive sexual health education, supported academic achievement, encouraged communication between teens and their parents and built self confidence among participants in a biweekly peer support program.
• Gethsemane Missionary Baptist Church – Outreach House, which provides food, household items, personal items and other needs to families in need.
• Happy Roots to provide staff to the West End Community Garden to run a variety of programs, including educational programs and family fun activities.
• Livingstone College, which hosted a five-day summer music camp.
• The Livingstone College Education Department for its “Read Ins,” programs where Livingstone students worked with and read to local students and provided books to local parents.
• Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church for a summer enrichment camp aimed at preparing children for the upcoming school year and introducing new experiences through field trips and other activities.
• Next Generation Academy, which ran a summer camp at Salisbury High School.
• Power Cross, which promoted their Summer Safe Haven program aimed at helping students “catch up academically.”
• Rowan County Crosby Scholars for the “Try It Tuesday” summer program, which aimed to promote educational attainment, career exploration and community engagement among West End middle school students.
• The Rowan-Cabarrus YMCA, which provided free enrollment to students to a 10-week summer camp.
• Royal House Community Training for tutoring to low-performing students.
• The Salisbury-Rowan NAACP for their Operation THINK program, which was created to combat crime in the city. The program includes a Community Reset Team that is deployed before, during and after violent events to maintain peace and facilitate communication between law enforcement and residents along with seminars and other community events aimed at promoting awareness and engagement.
• The Bread Riot, which provided a mobile vegetable market that set up regularly throughout the neighborhood and gave out fresh produce with a “give what you can” payment system.
• The Pedal Factory for the Let’s Ride West End Program, which included 10 sessions teaching the fundamentals of bicycle upkeep and guided rides where attendees learned about the history of local sites.
• Tindal Touched for the Brenner Crossing Tutor Time summer program, which provided tutors and volunteers to visit and work with children from the Brenner Crossing complex.
• Triumph Support Group for its summer enrichment program that provided middle and high school students with hands-on learning experiences focused on fitness, nutrition, mental health and other resources.
• Westside after School Summer Programs, where retired and current teachers providing individualized tutoring.

All together, those programs received a total of $200,000 in funding from the $800,000 that the city received from the BCJI grant.

Romar Morris, director of Next Generation Academy, said that the organization utilized that funding to expand its camp offerings and expose local children to opportunities they may not otherwise have been able to see.

“The base of the whole thing was exposure, because we were able to take these students outside of their natural comfort level. A lot of them may not have the opportunity, so just allowing them to see a bigger future, a brighter future. We took them to the University of Chapel Hill, we took them to Discovery Place, we tried to take them places outside the county that they are not accustomed to,” said Morris.

The BCJI program is aimed at lowering crime rates throughout the nation through community-led initiatives. Smith noted that while the department was not ready to release the specific data, that initiative was reflected in the numbers, with a significant decrease in crime rates in the area.

The celebration on Wednesday was a culmination of a lot of man hours, said Smith, as the city and community have been working on making themselves eligible for the grant long before the reception in 2021.