Rep. Sykes Presents $956,000 Check For Community Crime Prevention and Youth Engagement Initiative In Akron
AKRON, OH—Today, U.S. Representative Emilia Sykes (OH-13) presented a ceremonial check to the Akron Urban League for $956,000 in Community Project Funding for its Community Crime Prevention and Youth Engagement Initiative.
“I am proud to deliver this vital funding to promote mentoring and workforce development throughout the City of Akron,” said Rep. Sykes. “By creating opportunities for our young people to develop and learn essential life skills, we can ensure they have the resources they need to become productive, successful members of our communities.”
“Akron Urban League is thrilled to partner with Congresswoman Sykes on a critical expansion of our recidivism prevention and education outreach programming. This remarkable investment will be essential in providing record expungement, access to health and mental health services, and social service referrals. These barrier removals will disrupt the ‘school-to-prison pipeline’ and elevate historically marginalized youth towards opportunities for higher education, upskilling, apprenticeships, and credentialed training. For almost 100 years, AUL workforce development programs have served adults in our community, and now thanks to this historic legislation, we can also be a key change maker for those impacted by the juvenile criminal justice system,” said Teresa R. LeGrair, Akron Urban League President & CEO.
The Akron Urban League will use this funding to promote alternatives to violence for at-risk youth through mentoring and life skills coaching, community leadership activities, and workforce development programming that will facilitate the finding, maintaining, and securing of employment opportunities. The goal of this program is to decrease crime in vulnerable communities by keeping our youth engaged and safer, which studies have shown will decrease incarceration rates and state and federal justice system expenditures.
The $956,000 for the Community Crime Prevention and Youth Engagement Initiative is one of the 12 Community Project Funding recipients, totaling more than $14.9 million, that Rep. Sykes secured in the recently passed 2024 federal spending bill. The other projects included in this funding can be found here.