INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Democratic party came together Thursday to highlight how the American Rescue Plan is helping Hoosiers recover from COVID-19.
The City of Indianapolis received $237 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan, a large portion of which is being dedicated to violence reduction.
A total of $37.5 million will go toward a gun-violence reduction strategy, which includes hiring more peacemakers. Meanwhile, $45 million is going toward grassroots organizations and $30 million is dedicated to mental health programming.
Tony Lopez, deputy director of violence reduction for the city's Office of Public Health and Safety, said the money is already being put to good use.
"We've been able to grow our team from about 10-12 individuals and right now we are at about 40 — and we are well on our way to the 50 peacemakers we are wanting to have," said Tony Lopez.
Indy Parks and Recreation is also receiving funding through the federal stimulus package. An allocation of $16.5 million will be dedicated to improving city parks. But the funding can't be used at just any park in the city.
"Areas that might have high crime and or poverty — things of that nature — they've identified certain census tracks," said Principal Park Planner Andre Denman.
Denman said improving those parks could lead to a reduction in crime, which is a goal of revitalization efforts.
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Quiet Tuesday with cooler temps by late week
Much quieter weather today with cooler temperatures. Highs will stay below normal for the rest of the week. A few rain chances but no severe weather is expected.
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"When you make improvements and you get more people in a park, usually the things we don't want to happen in parks go away,” said Denman. “So when you make the improvements, you get more eyes, families people in parks, and you know, all the negative goes away."
Investments in underserved communities will also come from the Office of Public Health and safety through American Rescue Plan dollars — not only for violence reduction but investing in grassroots organizations.
"Helping them, in the long run, be able to pull those grants and pull that funding that they could get on their own by the things that we help them understand and learn from," said Lopez.
Indy Parks said it hopes to start construction by the beginning of next year and finish updates by the end of summer or early fall of 2023.
-
Quiet Tuesday with cooler temps by late week
Much quieter weather today with cooler temperatures. Highs will stay below normal for the rest of the week. A few rain chances but no severe weather is expected.
Greenwood Community HS on e-learning day after auditorium damaged in storms
A tornado-warned storm late Monday night that moved through Greenwood has damaged a school auditorium.
Residents weigh in on proposed $2 billion data center project on the east side
A City-Council Council member on Monday night hosted a forum to discuss a proposed data center on the east side of Indianapolis.
Colts Insider grades Indy’s NFL Draft
The Colts had eight draft picks in the class, drafting five defensive players. All of their draft picks came from either the SEC or Big Ten.
