Mineola, NY- Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi, joined by Legislator Kevan Abrahams (D-Hempstead), Deputy Presiding Officer Roger Corbin (D-Westbury), Legislator David Mejias (D-Farmingdale), Legislator Diane Yatauro (D-Glen Cove), and George Siberón, Executive Director of the Nassau County Youth Board, today announced that the Nassau County Youth Board will be awarding $500,000 in funds to local Youth Violence and Gang Prevention and Intervention agencies.

“I am very pleased that we are able to award these local agencies the funds to continue their important work,” County Executive Suozzi said. “These agencies help to keep our children away from gangs, drugs and violence. That kind of protection is invaluable to Nassau County and its families. We want to target youth violence in our communities and better educate our young people of the dangers of gang involvement including crime, injury, death, and destruction of their family life and their future.”

Agencies were awarded funds as a result of a competitive bidding process. The major program components were:

• Street outreach
• Vocational services, including job skills, resume writing and job placement. This is an important component to providing alternatives to youth who are gang involved.
• Community involvement including collaboration with local schools, police, community groups, churches and religious organizations.

There were two types^** of funding, one for programs targeting services to the communities of Hempstead, Roosevelt, Uniondale, Freeport, New Cassel and Westbury. The second type of funding was for communities where gang violence is an emerging problem.

"By targeting funds to these youth agencies today we are putting our money where our mouth is," said Legislator Abrahams. "Nassau County does not have its head in the sand when it comes to gang and youth violence."

"The gang problem affects a cross section of children throughout Long Island," said Deputy Presiding Officer Corbin. "This money will help to replace gang culture with something else to constructively occupy their time."

“It is very important that we continue to support our local youth anti-violence and gang prevention agencies in order to help protect everyone from these dangers,” said Legislator Mejias.

Applications were reviewed by a number of Nassau County agencies and departments including the Nassau County Youth Board, Nassau County Departments of Social Services, Mental Health, and Drug and Alcohol, CASA, the Nassau County Police Department, the Nassau County Office of Grants Management, Hofstra University; the Nassau County Probation Department, the Long Island Minority AIDS Coalition, United Way of Long Island, and the Bethpage Federal Credit Union.

Nassau County Youth Board will meet with each awarded agency to clarify program objectives, budget, salaries and wages according to the contract period and the amount awarded.