SAN ANTONIO – If you're part of an organization that's focused on improving your area, you could get some financial backing from the San Antonio Police Department to help the cause.
Through a Crime Prevention Grant program, the San Antonio Police Department is giving out money seized through asset forfeiture, so that those with good intentions can reinvest in their communities.
"I allocated $150,000 to create the Crime Prevention Grant that will help neighborhood and community organizations apply for funding to develop and implement crime prevention strategies in your neighborhood," San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said.
The initiative was well-received by Beverly Watts Davis, the senior vice president of West Care Texas.
"This announcement came to the community as a wonderful surprise," Davis said.
Davis is hoping to get the money and use it to expand the nonprofit’s longtime mission to uplift and nurture those in underserved or struggling areas. She said a focus would be funding efforts to bridge the gap between police and the communities they serve.
"We have historical evidence. Years and years of evidence that show when the community is working hand-in-hand with the police, and they're working together, it is the most effective reduction and prevention of crime strategy that there is," Davis said.
San Antonio police say violent crimes throughout the city increased between April and June, with June topping out at more than 1,200 combined reports of rape, robbery, aggravated assault and homicide.
Davis is hoping to help change the negative statistics. If awarded, she says she'll use the money to expand past successes they've seen in neighborhoods, particularly on the East Side.
"I do not want to put a Band-Aid, a little bitty Band-Aid, on the 12-foot wound. What we are really looking to do is actually solve a problem," Davis said.
The deadline to apply for the grant is August 11. Click here for more information.