Parklawn YMCA Safe Place Hosts First 2009 Safe Night
Jun 23rd, 2009
The Parklawn Safe Night for youth was one not to be missed. The kick-off event was held at the Parklawn YMCA, a funded Safe & Sound Safe Place, on Friday, June 19th from 5:30 to 9:30 PM. Safe & Sound organizers hit the streets around the Parklawn housing complex, area neighborhoods, and even promoted it with Juneteenth attendees. The result was numerous youth and parents attending the event, bringing energy and ideas from all across the city.
Safe Nights were originally developed in Milwaukee in 1998 as a way to address youth violence and crime. They were intended to offer a safe environment for young people to come together to have a good time and take away positive messages for the community. The idea became very popular and spread nationwide as a means to bring youth together to address crime.
The concept of Safe Nights is still the same: provide a Safe Place for youth with a positive, educational message, speaking out against violent crime in our city. These events have taken place for years and helped thousands of youth learn a positive message, while keeping them off the streets during the highest crime hours for youth, from 3-9 p.m. on Thursday and Friday nights. Safe Nights is listed as a top 10 recommendation from the Milwaukee Homicide Review Commission to reduce violence in Milwaukee. This prompted a $2000 grant from the Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of Crime Victim Services to make these events possible.
Presentations included a Peace Making Circle facilitated by Community Partner Rose Pritchett. The teens discussed how crime has affected them and how to handle conflict in their daily lives. Another session prepared by Al Hegwood of Safe & Sound provided an online learning experience focused on internet safety and school bullying. Youth from Running Rebels, another Safe & Sound Safe Place, provided DJ services. Rose Pritchett and Aaron Edwards of Safe & Sound worked closely with Dwight Goodwin of the YMCA to organize the event. They wanted to target the last week of school for the first event and the deadline was really tight. They pulled it off successfully and expect that the next several Safe Nights this summer will be even better.
