CrossRoads Multicultural Community Center

The OJJDP FY 10 Earmarks Program furthers the Department's mission by providing grants, cooperative agreements, and other assistance authorized by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974, as amended, to organizations identified in the Conference Report to accompany the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010 (P.L. 111-117), H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 111-366 at 702-714.

A federal investment of $250,000 will be combined with private dollars to establish a multi-cultural center for community life that meets the needs of the diverse population of Jackson, with particular focus on the Fondren area, where Wesley Biblical Seminary is located. The center will create advantages for participants through programs that enhance 1) health and wellness; 2) need-focused multi-cultural education; 3) English as a second language; 4) literacy training; 5) one-on-one tutoring; 6) after school instruction for primary and middle school children; 7) mentoring in moral social values (i.e. drug/alcohol prevention, healthy family relationships, responsible financial management/planning); 8) GED training for minors; 9) support classes for children of international residents; 10) outreach to the hungry; 11) volunteerism in local health care facilities; and 12) outreach and GED training for the incarcerated. As the Crossroads Multicultural Community Center is created, its initial focus will be on serving students enrolled in two public schools within three blocks of the Center: Chastain Middle School (more than 1100 students) and Boyd Elementary School (more than 400 students). These schools will be the entry point into outreach to the larger Fondren Neighborhood. NCA/NCF