Anti-Crime Project Needs Volunteers
Community leaders and Oxnard residents interested in volunteering for a model program to steer teenagers away from crime should attend a meeting at the South Oxnard Community Center tonight.
The meeting is the first chance for residents to get involved in the South Oxnard Challenge Project, which is funded by a $5-million California Board of Corrections grant given to Ventura County probation department.
The grant will fund a joint program that will use mentors, community service and education to reform south Oxnard teenagers caught up in the criminal justice system.
A broad spectrum of groups, including probation officials, the Oxnard Police Department, the county’s behavioral health department, local churches, schools and nonprofit organizations, plan to participate.
South Oxnard was picked for the grant because it has one of the highest rates of juvenile crime in the county. During a 12-month period in 1995 and 1996, there were more than 225 crimes committed by juveniles in south Oxnard. There also were six homicides in the area and 11 drive-by shootings, officials said.
The program will attempt to identify young offenders and change their lives using a mix of approaches, including mentoring and having nonviolent offenders meet their victims.
Tonight’s meeting begins at 7 p.m. at the South Oxnard Community Center, 200 E. Bard Road. For more information, call Carmen Flores 654-2106.
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