Niraj Warikoo

Detroit Free Press

A Dearborn group led by Lebanese-Americans has received a $500,000 grant from the Department of Homeland Security as part of an effort by the U.S. government to counter violent extremism and radicalization.

The city of Dearborn's police department also received an additional $51,521 through the program from the department, which awarded $10 million for 31 proposals across the U.S.

LAHC (Leaders Advancing and Helping Communities), founded as the Lebanese-American Heritage Club, is a nonprofit group that provides a range of social services aimed at low income families such as food distribution and afterschool programs.

"The funding will be specifically used to sustain existing programming that has been offered for nearly a decade in the organization," said Wassim Mahfouz, the executive director of LAHC. "These afterschool programs are focused on youth development, nurturing parenting, substance abuse prevention, community service and overall improving the behavioral and physical well-being of the community."

The grants were awarded to various law enforcement agencies, universities and a range of groups to help counter extremist group like ISIS and neo-Nazis. They're part of an effort called CVE, Countering Violent Extremism, to halt the influence of radical groups on Americans amid concern about ISIS recruitment.

In a statement released last week, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson said: "In this age of self-radicalization and terrorist-inspired acts of violence, domestic-based efforts to counter violent extremism have become a homeland security imperative. And, I know from visiting numerous communities across this country that very often the best efforts to counter violent extremism are local, tailored to a particular community. My hope is that Congress will continue to fund this type of grant activity in the future. Again, this is a homeland security imperative."

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Johnson said there was "a total of 31 proposals, from various organizations in multiple communities, have been accepted to receive some part of the $10 million appropriated by Congress last year. The funding will go for activities that include intervention, developing resilience, challenging the narrative, and building capacity."

The money was give to groups in four categories: Developing Resilience, Training and Engagement, Managing Interventions, and Challenging the Narrative. LAHC received the most money for the Developing Resilience category. Dearborn Police received the money in the Training and Engagement category.

Johnson said that aAmong the awardees are organizations devoted specifically to countering ISIL’s recruitment efforts in our homeland, and Life After Hate, an organization devoted to the rehabilitation of former neo-Nazis and other domestic extremists in this country."

The organizations receiving the most amount of money were the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, $866,687, and the Claremont School of Theology in Los Angeles, $800,000

Founded in 1982, LAHC was initially an athletic organization aimed at the Lebanese-American community, especially in Dearborn where they make up a sizable percentage of the population. The group often hosts community events and visits by federal officials, including meetings where Arab-Americans meet with law enforcement officials in the BRIDGES program. Attorney General Loretta Lynch spoke at the center last year.

Mahfouz said: "The LAHC has and will continue to be committed to the advancement and growth of the communities we serve and works diligently to ensure our advocacy efforts are consistent with the needs of those we serve. We are open to dialog and welcome anyone interested in learning about our work."

Contact Niraj Warikoo: nwarikoo@freepress.com or 313-223-4792. Follow him on Twitter @nwarikoo