UB Kensington Project Awarded $40,000 Grant from Allstate Foundation

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The neighborhood surrounding Buffalo's Kensington High School and the Kenfield/Langfield Housing Development has its share of challenges, including gang activities and violence that have begun to invade the area's streets and school hallways.

With the help of a $40,000 grant from the Allstate Foundation, the University at Buffalo is beginning a program called the Allstate Initiative in an effort to help younger students in the community avoid violent and other counterproductive behaviors.

Representatives of Allstate today presented to Lawrence Shulman, dean of the UB School of Social Work, a check for $40,000 to help bolster efforts that have occurred during the past year and already are showing positive results.

Shulman said the Allstate Initiative will be part of the Kensington Coalition, a group that seeks to improve the chances of success for students before they begin high school. Shulman and Sharon West, the executive director of the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority (BMHA), co-chair the coalition, which includes representatives from the Buffalo Public Schools, Buffalo Police Department, FBI, Erie County District Attorney's Office and BMHA, as well as health, human-services and employment agencies, and community groups.

Shulman said the group's progress during the past year includes a "sharp drop in Kensington High School suspensions as one indicator."

The grant from the Allstate Foundation will help the area's younger students to make smarter decisions as they grow, he added.

"The Allstate Initiative will serve as an 'inoculation' program for upper-elementary and middle-school students, in which we will attempt to 'vaccinate' them against the destructive behaviors and other perils that they will face in high school," he said.

Maureen E. Sullivan, field corporate relations manager for Allstate Insurance, said the Allstate Foundation trustees approved the grant as part of its commitment to "Safe and Vital Communities" through school anti-violence programs.

"We are glad to support this unique opportunity that encourages UB, law-enforcement, school, human-services and community partners to collaborate in bringing about positive change in one of our city's most challenged neighborhoods," she said.

The Allstate Initiative, conducted through the UB School of Social Work, will be an 18-month pilot program providing violence-prevention, intervention and mentoring services in two middle schools and one elementary school that feed into Kensington High School. The program will focus on pre- and early teens (sixth through ninth graders) who are preparing to make the transition into high school -- a time that is difficult for many students, but especially for those who live in depressed urban neighborhoods.

The support of the Allstate Foundation will fund program implementation costs, including the work of a behavioral specialist who will work with students in three targeted schools within the Kensington High School feeder system.

The Kensington Project also has received support from the Eileen and Rupert Warren Charitable Fund at the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo, as well as from the State Education Department and the State University of New York.

The Allstate Foundation grant is part of "The Campaign for UB: Generation to Generation," which has a goal of $250 million and is in its final phase.

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