New effort to help at-risk neighborhoods - WDRB 41 Louisville - News, Weather, Sports Community

New effort to help at-risk neighborhoods

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LOUISVILLE, KY. (WDRB) -- A new effort is underway to get more children in at-risk neighborhoods to overcome obstacles they face such as violence and poverty.

New funding was announced Friday for Project Connect, which is a partnership between Big Brothers - Big Sisters and several community organizations.

With new donations, the program has nearly $90,000, including a grant from the city.  It will be used to make 100 new matches between mentors and children in the coming year.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer says, "Little Brothers and Little Sisters are 46% more likely to stay off drugs and 27% more likely to stay off alcohol, so when you talk about the health implication, those are the numeric statistics."

Officials also say children with Big Brothers and Big Sisters typically do better in school.

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    Thanks to a grant from Norton Healthcare, this story and others are available in real-time closed captioning on WDRB.