Visiting Lifeline to Success Reentry Program Group Home in Frayser
August 30, 2024 |
Dear Friend, This week, I visited the Lifeline to Success ex-offender reentry program group home in Frayser for which I secured $500,000 in funding through the annual appropriations process. I also visited seniors at the Compass High School in Midtown to discuss the importance of voting and my work in Congress, welcomed a $1 million Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant to the City of Memphis to address dumping in four specific neighborhoods whose quality of life will now be improved, attended the groundbreaking in Overton Park of the Metal Museum’s International Metal Arts Institute, announced substantial funding for Porter-Leath’s Early Head Start programs, announced a grant funding cellular-level medical research at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, congratulated a University of Memphis history professor for winning a prestigious National Endowment for the Humanities research grant; and offered health tips about available and vital vaccines. Keep reading and follow me on Twitter (X), Facebook, and Instagram to see what I am doing as it happens. Visiting Lifeline to Success Reentry Program Group Home in Frayser Addressing Seniors at Compass High School in Midtown about Voting and Other Issues Welcoming $1 Million EPA Grant to Address Chronic Dumping Attending Overton Park Groundbreaking of Metal Museum’s International Metal Arts Institute Announcing $2.3 Million Early Head Start Grant to Porter-Leath Saluting NIH Grant to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Congratulating University for Memphis History Professor Aram Goudsouzian Visiting Lifeline to Success Reentry Program Group Home in Frayser On Thursday, I visited the Lifeline to Success Inc. reentry program’s group house in Frayser for which I was able to secure $500,000 in community project funding in the Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations bill. Lifeline to Success offers job training, financial guidance and other support services to assure successful reentry for ex-offenders, helping to lower the rate of recidivism. I congratulate Vinessa Brown, the Executive Director of Lifeline to Success; DeAndre Brown, founder and former Executive Director of Lifeline to Success and the current Director of the Shelby County Office of Reentry; and program participants on this hopeful project helping to lower crime and bettering our community. Addressing Seniors at Compass High School in Midtown about Voting and Other Issues On Wednesday, I spoke to some exceptional seniors at Compass High School in Midtown and answered their thoughtful questions on a wide variety of subjects. We discussed many important topics, like my work in Congress defending civil liberties, protecting our democracy and pushing back on things like the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 blueprint for a possible Trump return to the White House. We also discussed the importance of voting and the HOPE Lottery Scholarship -- a program I worked hard to create as a State Senator in the Tennessee Legislature that has delivered more than two million scholarships and grants and is still helping students today. There was a lot of interest and excitement about Vice President Kamala Harris. We talked about my work with her and the Biden Administration and how together we secured a $393 million grant to replace the Interstate 55 bridge over the Mississippi River (the largest infrastructure investment in Tennessee history), new funding for St. Jude and for our other research institutions, and lots more. We also discussed our shared support for things like supporting America’s NATO allies, defending our rights and civil liberties, and protecting the environment. I’ve been pleased to work with VP Harris and told the students that she reminds me of another historic figure who also broke a glass ceiling back in 1960: John F. Kennedy. Welcoming $1 Million EPA Grant to Address Chronic Dumping Last Friday, I announced that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will provide $1 million to the City of Memphis for cleanup of chronic dumping in the Binghampton, Frayser, Klondike and Whitehaven neighborhoods, improving health, safety, the aesthetics and the quality of life for residents. See my release here. Attending Overton Park Groundbreaking of Metal Museum’s International Metal Arts Institute On Thursday morning, I attended the groundbreaking of the Metal Museum’s International Metal Arts Institute at Rust Hall at the former Memphis College of Art in Overton Park. I am pleased that federal funding for the project totaling $700,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute for Museum and Library Services has been leveraged, and that my office could help its efforts to get important tax credits. I was also pleased to endorse plans for the historically respectful renovation of Rust Hall with the National Park Service in 2023. The Metal Museum, which will retain its river bluff campus as it expands into Midtown, is devoted to exhibitions of metalwork and public programs featuring metalsmiths. It is the only institution of its kind in North America and one of only a few in the world devoted exclusively to metalwork. Memphis is fortunate to be home to this unique and important institution and its new location, expected to be complete in 2016, will improve accessibility to its collection for the public. Announcing $2.3 Million Early Head Start Grant to Porter-Leath On Thursday, I announced that Porter-Leath Inc., which has served the Memphis community for more than 160 years offering resources to at-risk children and their families, will be receiving a grant of $2,384,972 to operate its Early Head Start programs. See my release here. Saluting NIH Grant to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Also Thursday, I announced that St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital will be receiving a $462,500 grant to conduct important cellular level research from one of our National Institutes of Health (NIH). See that release here. Congratulating University for Memphis History Professor Aram Goudsouzian On Tuesday, I congratulated University of Memphis American History Professor Aram Goudsouzian on being awarded a prestigious National Endowment for the Humanities grant to complete his work on a book focused on sports and sports coverage during the Civil Rights Movement and the rise of televised sports. See my statement on his achievement here. As I mentioned here last week, the new Covid-19 vaccines are almost here. Please consider this guidance and get the shots when they become available. Also, August is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Immunization Awareness Month, an opportunity to review the status of the vaccinations needed to maintain good health against a range of biological pathogens. Different vaccines work in different ways, but every vaccine helps the body’s immune system learn how to fight germs. It typically takes a few weeks for protection to develop after vaccination, but that protection can last a lifetime. A few vaccines, such as those for tetanus, Covid or seasonal flu, require occasional booster doses to maintain the body’s defenses. See the CDC’s detailed guidance here. “I believe all Southern liberals come from the same starting point -- race. Once you figure out they are lying to you about race, you start to question everything.” – Columnist and author Molly Ivins, born on this day in 1944 I want to wish everyone a safe and happy Labor Day weekend. As always, I remain. Steve Cohen |