VOICE endorses push for Boys & Girls Club


The Vance Organization to Implement Community Excellence on Wednesday morning formally endorsed the exploratory North Central North Carolina Boys & Girls Club, to be located in Henderson.

Group leader Elaine Chavis-Young explained the history and aims of the project during VOICE’s regular meeting at the Aycock Recreation Complex. The Boys & Girls Club is a project the Vance County Coalition Against Violence launched in January. Chavis-Young said the goal is not to compete with existing programs but to supplement and augment recreational activities for youths.

This spring her committee met with representatives from the Boys & Girls Club’s Atlanta headquarters and plans to tour clubs in Wake Forest and other places.

According to the national organization’s Web site, Boys and Girls Clubs offer programs dealing with issues ranging from character and leadership, to education and careers, to the arts and sports and recreation. Clubs typically offer programs before and after school and provide expanded programming during the summer.

Because of its central location within walking or biking distance for most youths in the city, Chavis-Young thinks the soon-to-be-vacated library is the perfect location for the club. The H. Leslie Perry Memorial Library is scheduled to move to its Embassy Square building in the spring. Chavis-Young hopes to have the Boys & Girls Club running by next summer so Vance youths “won’t have to go another summer without something like this.”

Henderson and Vance County jointly own the library’s current home on Rose Avenue, a former grocery store. Both governments would have to agree to any use of the building.

VOICE did not formally endorse the library as the location of the club, but most members spoke favorably about the idea. VOICE endorsed the concept of the club and left open the possibility of backing a specific location when plans are further along.

The library site falls within the area VOICE has designated for its application to join the U.S. Department of Justice’s Weed and Seed program. A clubhouse in that zone could be used as a safe haven, a place that provides safety and services.

VOICE, which has assumed the role of steering committee for the Weed and Seed program, next month must submit to the U.S. Attorney’s Office a letter of intent to apply for official Weed and Seed recognition. The full application is due in October.

The Henderson-Vance quest to enter the comprehensive anti-crime program has the endorsement of VOICE, the Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, the Coalition Against Violence, the Vance County Board of Commissioners and the Henderson City Council. The board of the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce is to consider an endorsement today, and VOICE plans to seek support from the Vance chapter of the NAACP, the county Economic Development Commission, the Clean Up Henderson Committee, the Vance County Board of Education, the proposed Henderson-Vance Economic Partnership and neighborhood watch groups. VOICE also wants the endorsements of elected representatives, including U.S. Reps. G.K. Butterfield and Bob Etheridge and Sens. Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr.

Police Lt. Perry Twisdale, who has a lead role in preparing the application, told VOICE on Wednesday that in looking through census data, he believes the selected area will be a competitive candidate for the program. The Justice Department expects to add only 31 applicants nationwide to the program in the coming year.

The targeted Vance area, most of which falls inside the city, has more than the required population of 3,000 and high crime statistics, Twisdale said. Of the 5,200 people living in the area, 10 percent have been involved in the most serious violent crimes in the past four years: homicide, rape, aggravated assault and armed robbery. Twisdale said he thinks about half of Henderson’s crimes happen in the targeted area, which stretches north of the old Harriet & Henderson Yarns complex on Main Street and south of the H&H complex on Alexander Avenue, all on the eastern side of the city. Downtown and Flint Hill are among the areas covered.

Twisdale said he also will compile social statistics such as the high school dropout rate, the teen pregnancy rate and the homeownership rate.

Written by Brad Breece