By Eileen Buckley
Buffalo, NY – Ten community and faith based organizations received grants Monday to provide safe havens as part of Buffalo's Weed and Seed program.
Mayor Byron Brown handed out more than $142,000 in grants among the ten organizations. The concept is to remove crime and blight from neighborhoods.
Antawn Diggs is a senior program coordinator with the Weed and Seed program. He says it's in line with the Mayor's zero tolerance policy against crime.
"Weed and Seed strategy is combines local law enforcement along with community residents," Diggs said. "For example. the Weed and Seed program lets local law enforcement do what they do best, which is weed out crime, and then we involved the community to work with collaborations to plant seeds of hope where the crime has been weeded out."
The safe havens at various locations in the city provide education and recreational needs for teens, adults and senior citizens.