Whether it’s gangs, graffiti or garbage, local residents can
fight back with training and cash from the Neighborhood Grant
program.
Gilroy – Whether it’s gangs, graffiti or garbage, local residents can fight back with training and cash from the Neighborhood Grant program.
On Feb. 7, the city will conduct an information forum on how residents can receive grants of up to $5,000 to help with neighborhood projects. The funding, provided annually by Community Foundation Silicon Valley, has helped organize neighborhood clean-ups and watches, purchase school supplies and create community newsletters.
“For the last 10 years, the City of Gilroy has worked closely with the Community Foundation in supporting neighborhoods such as Eigleberry Street or Rogers Lane, which was notorious for drive-by shootings,” said Community Service Officer Rachel Munoz. “We helped them get this neighborhood grant to unite the neighborhood and take a stand against crime. We helped them organize neighborhood watches, get more patrolmen out there. We used the community policing approach to strengthen the ties between the police department and the community. … The grant helped empower the residents to come together and get to know each other.”
At the Feb. 7 session, Melissa Downey of Community Foundation will teach residents how to take the first step in organizing their neighborhood by applying for a grant. The session will review the application process and how to set up a program for city neighborhood’s.
Sharon Root, a resident of the Rogers Lane neighborhood east of Monterey Street, was the first to win a grant through the program. That was 10 years ago, she said, but the effects of the grant continue to be felt. The funds helped by “getting the neighbors to know each other better, cleaning up graffiti, getting the gang members out … Before we were having a lot of drive-by shootings here. We’ve only had one or two incidents in the last four or five years. It’s been nice around here.”
The Neighborhood Grants meeting will take place Feb. 7 from 6 to 7:30pm, at the Gilroy Senior Center, 7371 Hanna St.
For more information, contact Gilroy Police Community Service Officer Rachel Munoz at 846-0524 rm****@**********ca.us.
Online
To apply for up to $5,000 to help organize and clean up your neighborhood, download an application at www.cfsv.org/grants_neighborhood.html
