County to fund coordinators to address students' educational, nutritional, health, social needs

A new county department to address community youth violence announced its partnership with three prominent Wilmington nonprofits Thursday.

Port City United, formed earlier this year by New Hanover County, shared that it will begin working with Communities In Schools of Cape Fear, Voyage, and Leading Into New Communities (LINC).

Port City United will hire 22 coordinators, funded by the county, who will work to connect students and their families to community resources and provide intensive case management to help meet students' educational, nutritional, health and social needs.

“Our community deserves to have easier access and a better process for wraparound services, but sometimes they don’t know who or how to ask,” said Port City United Director Cedric Harrison in a news release. “Our goal is to provide additional connections that these organizations can use to expand their reach and impact to assist more students and families.”

The coordinators will be placed at partnering organizations, including 15 coordinators to be hired and placed at Communities in Schools, four at Voyage and three at LINC.

The coordinators have not been hired yet. A spokesperson for the county said the agreement was made based on community meetings that have occurred over the last seven months.

Those coordinators will work with students at seven "impact-zone identified schools," including International School at Gregory, Snipes Academy of Art and Design, Forest Hills Global Elementary, Rachel Freeman School of Engineering, D.C. Virgo Preparatory Academy, Williston Middle School and New Hanover High School.

The announcement came two days after the StarNews published an investigation into the racial imbalance in Wilmington's inner-city schools and causes of that, including segregation within the city's neighborhoods.

Port City United was approved as a new department in the county by the Board of Commissioners in January. It focuses on community violence and intervention initiatives. Its main components include outreach within communities, a call center to report violence or threats, and the nonprofit partnerships to bring coordinators into schools.

Reporter Sydney Hoover can be reached at 910-343-2339 or shoover@gannett.com.