June 1, 2001 – Faith Baker, program manager for the executive office of the federal Weed and Seed Program in Washington, D.C., will be visiting the territory's two Weed and Seed sites on St. Thomas and St. Croix next week.
U. S. Attorney David L. Atkinson said Baker has oversight responsibility for the territory's two sites at Estate Grove Place on St. Croix and Estate Bovoni on St. Thomas.
Baker and the Weed and Seed staffs will conduct workshops on all three islands, and meet with residents and other partners involved in the Weed and Seed program. The program uses a multi-agency strategy to "weed out" crime, violence, gang activity and drug use in targeted neighborhoods and restore or"seed" the community through a variety of social programs and economic revitalization.
Baker will be on St. Croix Sunday through Wednesday. She will conduct a workshop at 10 a.m. Monday at the Almeric L. Christian Federal Building at Golden Rock, Christiansted with individuals or groups on St. Croix who are interested in learning more about the program and how a community can qualify to become a recognized Weed and Seed site.
At 6 p.m. Tuesday, Baker will meet will attend the program's steering committee meeting at the Estate Grove Place Community Center and meet with residents and other partners involved in the Grove Place Weed and Seed strategy.
Atkinson said the workshops are free, and he stressed the "benefits to any community which is an officially recognized Weed and Seed site are immeasurable." For further information, or to register for a workshop, call Diane DeAbreu at the U. S. Attorney's office on St. Croix at 773-3920.
