THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 5, 1996 TAG: 9610050198
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BATTINTO BATTS JR., STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 90 lines
Tara Meighan no longer fears walking to the convenience store near her family's home in Portsmouth's Lincoln Park neighborhood.
The drug dealers who once filled the streets inside the public housing complex are gone, she says, thanks to a Portsmouth Redevelopment and Housing Authority crackdown funded by a federal grant.
But while life is safer in Lincoln Park, Meighan says the community is a long way from crime free.
``I think they are doing a much better job with the drugs,'' she said. ``But we need more officers out here. There are a lot of unsolved crimes. I am still scared.''
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development wants to help officials in Portsmouth and other cities in South Hampton Roads continue to make residents of public housing feel safer.
Housing Secretary Henry G. Cisneros announced Friday that the department will award $259 million in grants to 650 cities to fight crime and drugs in public housing.
About $2 million of the money will come to South Hampton Roads. Portsmouth, Norfolk, Chesapeake and Suffolk were chosen to receive grants.
The money will be used to help housing authorities enforce tough eviction procedures to keep violent criminals out of public housing, improve security with lighting and fences, aid citizen patrols and community policing efforts and provide educational and recreational programs for youths.
``These grants help to clean up drugs and crime in much of our nation's public housing,'' Cisneros said. ``In the past, too many of our public housing developments became war zones, with gangs and drug dealers on the verge of gaining the upper hand. We're helping communities and law enforcement restore the safety and security that all American families deserve.''
Nearly 1,000 cities applied for the funds, which were awarded based on the types of programs they want to establish and the number of people the city has living in public housing. Norfolk received the largest allocation in South Hampton Roads, with slightly more than $1 million.
``For a city the size of Norfolk, $1 million will help a great deal,'' Cisneros said. On a per-capita basis, he said, ``the monies going to Portsmouth, Chesapeake and Suffolk is equal to the larger cities.''
The federal government has awarded the money each year nationally since 1989. Officials in South Hampton Roads cities who have received funds in the past say they are producing results.
A citizen patrol program will begin next month in Norfolk's Young Terrace complex. Residents equipped with cellular phones that dial 911 only, will patrol the streets within the complex and report crimes to the police. The phone service will be paid for by federal crime prevention money.
The program would not be possible without the federal money, said Herman Springs, security program manager for the Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
``The citizens, the police department and the housing authority are working together to address problems and concerns that are related to drugs and other activity,'' Springs said.
In Portsmouth, where violent crime occurs more often than in any other city in South Hampton Roads, 25 percent fewer violent crimes were reported for the first six months of this year than in the same period last year.
Officials partially credit the crackdown on crime in public housing.
The city has used the federal money to increase police patrols within the complexes, institute neighborhood watch groups, provide conflict resolution programs and construct barriers to keep non-residents out of the complexes.
Meighan credits the housing authority's initiatives for making life better in Lincoln Park, but she said there are still problems.
``I close the doors and lock them,'' said Meighan, who lives in the complex with her mother and two brothers. ``I'm scared someone is going to run into our house and stick us up. They need the police out here at all times so they know they can't do this to innocent people.''
Meighan, who is studying nursing at Tidewater Community College, looks forward to her graduation.
``Then I will be able to move us out of here,'' she said. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
[Cisneros]
Graphic
In Hampton Roads
[Some programs South Hampton Roads cities will run with the
money:...
Norfolk: $1,006,00
Portsmouth: $475,000
Suffolk: $233,000
Chesapeake: $231,000
[For complete copy, see microfilm]
KEYWORDS: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT
GRANT CRIME PORTSMOUTH REDEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING AUTHORITY
PUBLIC HOUSING by CNB