Ongoing Training and Community Resource Updates Keeps Safe & Sound Effective
The advantages of having a team of well trained, well informed organizing staff that work with youth serving organizations across the city are many. The Community Partners and Safe Places are able to team up for big projects, bring youth groups together, work collaboratively for events, provide specialized skills, and just share great ideas. The Partners and Safe Places are truly a team of diverse people that can leverage the best of everyone’s skills and experiences to be successful.
One advantage is the ability to coordinate a range of trainings and resource presentations. During the months of February and March Community Partners staff completed day long “ride-along” trainings with Department of Neighborhood Services inspector Charlie Holst. Charlie provided hands on interpretation of city code as it relates to nuisance junk vehicles and blight. Training is put to good use, such as the successes in 2008 related to blight reduction. Through coordination with Department of Neighborhood Services and written warnings for debris or junk vehicles and deteriorated housing an impressive 1275 total written warnings were issued by Safe & Sound. Overall, these efforts resulted in a voluntary compliance rate of 79.8%, a reduction in blight and avoidance of sometimes costly city services intervention for the property owner.
Property owners also received resource referrals for low-cost home repair materials, tools, grant programs, and services. One measurement of the resource referral success rate is the fact that the Community Warehouse received 142 memberships from Safe & Sound referrals in 2008 alone. These numbers truly demonstrate how effective a team of organizers with broad resource knowledge and proper training can be when addressing issues related to blight and crime.
Resource providers present at Safe & Sound staff meetings or Safe Place program council meetings. Many times regular staff meetings are planned at the resource provider’s agency or office. Vesting facilities lets organizers and youth services providers get a first hand look at services offered and who can best benefit from them. Making a personal acquaintance and hearing about a program’s specifics from the person who will answer resident phone calls is invaluable. Encouraging parents and residents to call someone you already know for help is much easier than giving out a non-descript number.
Ongoing training also keeps Safe & Sound organizers safe and knowledgeable. The Milwaukee Domestic Animal Control Commission provided a training which explained how to avoid aggressive dogs or identify neglected pets. The Milwaukee Police Department Citizen’s Academy is a 12 week course on basic law enforcement principles and practices. The Community Emergency Response Team is a three day course that enables organizers, block clubs and residents to be even more of an asset in crisis situations like the flooding last spring in Milwaukee.
Other trainings may span over multiple days and train youth workers and organizers to facilitate criminal cases with the District Attorney’s Office Community Conferencing Program or Peace Making Circles with youth and community members. Having our staff and grantee agencies well trained, prepared and up-to-date is what keeps Safe & Sound so effective.
