Meeting set on YSU campus for local Weed and Seed funds

YOUNGSTOWN -- In preparation for applying for a federal Weed and Seed Project grant, Youngstown State University's Center for Human Services Development will have a meeting at 10 a.m. June 14 to explain the process.
The meeting will be in the McKay Auditorium at YSU's Beeghly College of Education.
Weed and Seed is an urban renewal program of the U.S. Department of Justice aimed at helping cities reduce crime and increase the quality of life in targeted sections.
Youngstown's South Side was designated a Weed and Seed area in 1999. That grant expires next year, said Ricky George, associate director of the YSU Center for Human Services Development.
The designation funds a variety of crime prevention and social services to the targeted area, such as drug reduction efforts, after-school programs and services to the elderly.
The Center for Human Services Development must submit a preliminary proposal by the end of August. The center should be notified by the fall if it will be permitted to move to the application stage.
If funded, the Weed and Seed program has an annual budget of at least $225,000.