BATON ROUGE - Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome has announced the latest move her fight against crime in East Baton Rouge Parish.

On Wednesday, the mayor's office announced the Baton Rouge ReBuilds AmeriCorps VISTA Program to help support and strengthen neighborhoods in the high-crime areas of the parish. Through the program, AmeriCorps members will maintain a presence in targeted communities and provide resources and assistance to help strengthen, organize, and improve neighborhoods within that community.

The mayor also announced a new partnership with the Baton Rouge Police Department to offer a mentoring program through the Baton Rouge Police Athletic League Mentoring Initiative to help strengthen relationships between youth and law enforcement. The mayor says the free program will allow young people to receive one-on-one mentoring for up to 12 weeks with a BRPD officer and to also participate in recreational activities.  

The mayor will host a press conference Thursday morning to formally announce the programs.