Grants

with partners like UTEC, Masshire, Ironstone Farm in Tewksbury, The Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell, Lowell Community Health Center, the West End Gym and others will receive $634,861 from the Shannon Grant program.

Sen. Ed Kennedy, Dlowell, joined Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Lowell Police Superintendent Kelly Richardson, representatives from UTEC and others in a virtual ceremony announcing $13 million worth of grants from the Shannon program and the Violence Against Women Act, Services, Training, Officers Prosecutors program.

“Shannon Grant funding has been instrumental in assisting the Lowell Police Department and partner organizations in providing programming for at-risk youth and curbing gang engagement and violence over the past 14 years in the city — positively impacting quality of life throughout the city in ways we would not have been able to do with city budget funding alone,” Kennedy said.

Lowell is one 28 recipients of $9.96 million in Shannon Grant funding, with Boston, Worcester, Springfield, New Bedford and Fall River also receiving major grants.

Maryann Manzi, public safety research and planning director, said this is the 15th year the city has received funding from the

Sen. Charles E. Shannon Jr. Community Safety Initiative — colloquially known as Shannon Grants — and that over 14,000 people have been served by programs supported by the grants.

“Seventy percent of the grant money goes to youth services and activities,” Manzi said.

New among those programs this year is a program that will send about 30 at-risk youths in Lowell to Ironstone Farm in Tewksbury for camps.

An older but expanding program sees Lowell Police partner with Masshire on a program to link about 54 youths with jobs this year. Manzi said the program is typically only for summer jobs, but expanded some offerings this year due to the pandemic and the need

for employment opportunities.

“We remain incredibly appreciative of the support received through the Shannon Grant Program that has truly helped us work in partnership to best reduce youth violence while increasing positive outcomes through activities ranging from outreach to education,” said Sako Long, youth coordinator at UTEC.

Capt. Mark Leblanc, the Lowell Police public information officer and commander of the department’s detective unit, said that while Shannon Grant funds also help fund things like proactive police patrols, the majority of the funds go toward efforts at engagement and violence prevention that are key to community policing strategies.

“The majority is going toward youth engagement, and that’s what we’re looking for,” Leblanc said. “A portion goes to proactive neighborhood patrols, but the real focus is on engagement and it’s a preventive strategy that this is all focused on.”

Fitchburg State University and Umass Lowell also received grants as local action research partners to Shannon Grant initiative sites.

Fitchburg State will get $50,628, while Umass Lowell will get three separate grants for $59,750, $36,941 and $36,941 for work in Lowell, Lawrence and Haverhill/methuen respectively, according to a press release.

The administration also announced the Violence

Against Women Act grant recipients, with Bedford Police getting $32,720 and Fitchburg Police getting $59,375. Northeast Legal Aid, which has an office in Lowell, will get $44,300, according to a press release.

“Our shared security depends on providing qualified professionals with the resources they need to prevent and respond to crime while supporting victims and survivors,” Polito said in a press release. “The agencies and organizations receiving these funds are bringing hope and healing to the people who need it most, and they strengthen our communities through their commitment to providing survivors and their families with safety nets and critical resources.”