SNOWE, COLLINS ANNOUNCE $50,000 FOR JUSTICE PROGRAMS IN MAINE

WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senators Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME) today announced $50,000 in federal funding to the Volunteers of America Northern New England Inc. This federal grant is awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice Housing Crime Initiative.

"This federal funding is critical to enhancing the state's ongoing efforts to reduce violent crimes and drug abuse throughout Maine, particularly among young adults in our communities," Snowe and Collins said in a joint statement. The federal grant was allocated as follows:

• $50,000 to the Brunswick Operation Weed and Seed Program, to develop and implement an initiative assisting in the prosecution and prevention of violent crimes and drug offense activities in public and federally-assisted low-income housing.

The Operation Weed and Seed Program is a community-based initiative that encompasses an innovative and comprehensive multi-agency approach to law enforcement, crime prevention, and community revitalization. The Operation Weed and Seed program has obtained funding from the Department of Justice since 1995.

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