The Boston Globe - “Community Briefing,” October 30, 2003

Lowell - A Lowell-based program designed to reduce gang violence among the city’s young people has received a $460,000 award. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant will help United Teen Equality Center continue its Streetworker Program for at least the next four years, the center’s executive director Gregg Croteau said. The center’s streetworkers are trained outreach workers who connect at-risk young people with a variety of social service programs. The streetworkers also work to reduce gang violence by serving as mediators for those involved in gangs. The streetworker program was one of only 18 programs to receive the grant funds; 313 agencies from across the country had applied for the foundation’s grants. The Johnson Foundation will supplement the grant with matching funds from a variety of local sources.