BENEFITS OF WEED AND SEED

One area in our community that all of us should be proud is the Weed and
Seed program -- even some crimes in the area receive enhanced punishment.

I salute Police Chief Lee Reese and others who worked hard to make this
program a reality.

The Blythe Neighborhood Safe Haven and Resource Center is a cooperative
effort of many agencies that was started by the Cleveland Police Department
as a result of the U.S. Department of Justice Weed and Seed Program.

The idea behind Weed and Seed is to enhance the quality of life for
citizens, typically from depressed and crime ridden areas, by "weeding" out
bad elements like drug dealers, violent criminals and poor services and
"seed" in good programs designed to assist the community.

The Cleveland Police Department has partnered with the Family Resource
Agency, Cleveland City Schools, Adult Basic Education, the Cleveland Public
Library, Signal Centers, Cleveland State Community College, Bradley
Initiative for Church and Community and local residents and business people
to provide a "one-stop-shop" for the community.

The old Blythe Avenue School was converted into a Safe Haven and Resource
Center that boasts an enormous range of services. Some of these include:

* Signal Center provides welfare-to-work training for single parents and
expectant mothers under the Families First program. The Signal Center
provides counseling, job training, parenting classes, GED classes ad
assists with the Health Department programs.

* An all-day, year-round Head Start program for preschool age children and
their parents is provided. The program provides a day care that allows
working parents to continue working while their children receive quality
education and entertainment for normal classroom hours.

* Cleveland Public Library has a Reading Room at the Safe Haven. The
Reading Room provides access to books, tutoring programs and GED training.

* Adult Basic Education and Opportunities for Adult Reading provides
English As A Second Language classes, GED tutoring, and reading skills
classes for the community.

* Bradley Initiative for Church and Community (BICC) provides a Community
Development Credit Union for the community. This program provides banking
services (low interest loans, checking accounts and savings accounts) to
individuals who live, work, worship or volunteer in the area. The credit
union also requires that individuals who open accounts receive training in
rudimentary monetary skills, such as balancing a checkbook, maintaining a
savings account and how to take out a loan.

* The Cleveland Police Department has a community-policing substation in
the Safe Haven facility. Officers work closely with the community and
service providers to develop a safe and effective environment.

* Weed and Seed has a Computer/Media Center at the Safe Haven. The center
has multiple computer work stations that are Internet accessible by
high-speed DSL. The computers can be used by residents to conduct job
searches, complete homework, do resumes and write school papers. A laser
printer is available, free of charge, to produce copies. The youth of the
community are encouraged to use these facilities.

Cleveland State Community College, Signal Center and Weed and Seed have
joined together to provide a college credit computer class, taught at the
Safe Haven, for Families First parents. Cleveland State provides a teacher
who instructs the students in the Computer/Media Center.

* Two community rooms are available for use at the Safe Haven. Both provide
users with a conference room atmosphere in which to conduct training and/or
meetings. The rooms are free of charge to Safe Haven partners and are
available at an extremely small fee for businesses.

* The gymnasium at the facility has been renovated and serves as the
backdrop for a host of programs. Cleveland Soccer League teams use the gym
to train, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Tennessee
has conducted methamphetamine training, and the Bradley County Sheriff's
Office has conducted training in the gym. The Bradley Baptist Association
and the Cleveland Police Department have partnered to provide Late Night
Basketball competition for local youths.

* The Cleveland Police Department Traffic Accident Prevention (TAP) Team
conducts monthly Child Restraint Device inspections and gives classes on
child safety at Safe Haven. The TAP Team has partnered with the Signal
Center to provide this training to expectant parents and single-parent
households.