New Castle County selects Brookside and Pleasantville as the next two neighborhoods of focus for the Building Better Communities Initiative.
Building Better Communities is an alternative way of looking at public safety and community development - according to New Castle County manager of special projects C.J. Bell.
Bell says they look at neighborhoods on a case-by-case basis to see what solutions fit each community’s needs.
“We talk to different local stakeholders whether that’s a civic association that's leading concerns, community members or local nonprofits that already does work there that are looking to scale it,” Bell says.
Bell adds the county looks for ways to increase access to youth services, public art and physical and mental health services.
“Mental health services are definitely increasing in demand just given the pandemic, given student’s being isolated, families being isolated, so it’s something that we definitely want to make sure is out there," Bell says.
The most recent neighborhood to join the program was Sparrow Run, where the Boys and Girls Club of Delaware received $38,000 to expand its services. CHILD Inc. was awarded over $85,000 to build a multimedia studio at the Sparrow Run Family Resource Center to provide educational support.
So far, New Castle County has allocated over $2.7 million to groups like the YWCA of Delaware, Boys and Girls Club, and Project SEED as part of Building Better Communities.. They still have over $2.5 million to give away.
Groups looking to apply for grants can find information at nccde.gov/bbc.
