Editorial: City of Belleville gets last-minute funds for workers

It looked like the city of Belleville wouldn’t be getting money from the Detroit Wayne Mental Health Authority this year to pay young summer workers, but Councilman Tom Fielder and City Manager Diana Kollmeyer put on the pressure and got a $47,000 grant.
That grant was announced June 21 and now the city has seven young people working for it and is taking applications for about five to eight more. The workers, between the ages of 14 and 24, are paid with the grant money.
“We’re about a month behind,” said Kollmeyer at the city’s regular meeting on Monday. Last year the city ran a highly successful work program with the agency’s grant.
She said one teen came back week after week for the past month to see if they could start up the program. Finally, he was hired and is among those out tending to grass cutting at the cemetery, additional park work, and other projects.
After strong lobbying by Van Buren Township Supervisor Kevin McNamara, the township got early approval for a $47,497 grant from the Detroit Wayne Mental Health Authority for a summer work initiative, the first time it had offered work to youth. VBT is running a highly stylized program called “The REAL” for 35 students ages 15-19.
The agency hopes to make a difference by putting young people to work in their communities during summer vacation.