Safe & Sound Community Partners

Dec 12th, 2008

You and your neighbors have the power to make a difference

• The development of neighborhood watches to reduce crime and increase neighborhood safety
• Conflict resolution and communication sharpening for better relationships with neighbors and City services
• Other neighborhood beautification and anti-crime efforts that you and your neighbors are willing to develop

To find out who your Community Partner is, contact: Diana Rodriguez, Community Partners Administrative Assistant.

VIDEO: Southside block clubs established with the help of Safe & Sound.

 

Safe & Sound Community Partners: the power of collaboration
Safe & Sound was established in May of 1997 and Community Partners began hiring and organizing in l998.  The methods utilized by Safe & Sound Community Partners have been developed over 10 years of grass roots organizing in the Milwaukee Community. We bring a versatile staff with wide range of methods to bear on the neighborhood specific issues at hand. Community Partners build relationships and collaborations in order to create success.

Developing resident relationships one porch at a time

Our primary method of relationship building is daily, year-round, door-to-door contacts. Face-to-face interaction is the only way to develop an understanding and appreciation of the issues that confront residents on a day-to-day basis. Through our knowledge of local and city-wide resources and services we are able to give personalized referrals and assistance to residents who may not otherwise be able to seek them out. Moreover, one in six adults in Milwaukee have not graduated from high school, making literacy a significant issue. Face-to-face interaction increases resident access to resources while enabling follow-up for additional assistance. Anti-crime and neighborhood improvement outreach information targeted to the specific needs of a block is distributed to each residence. Also included in outreach is Safe & Sound programmatic information and initiatives designed to benefit residents, such as block club and anti-crime activities. Collaborative meetings and events, such as walking block meetings, restorative justice conferences or crime analysis meetings involve and empower active residents,  while communicating a postive presence with other residents.

Removing the signs of crime to improve the quality of life

The methods utilized to increase neighborhood ‘quality of life’ issues include block clean-up events, graffiti ‘wipe-outs,’ and community events that bring residents together while building neighborhood pride. These events incorporate area stakeholders, including youth organizations, area businesses, faith and community based organizations. Our sustainable methods rely on resident based leadership, such as block clubs, and political leadership, such as the Alderman and County Supervisor’s offices. Through highly visible participatory activities, residents acquire a sense of pride and accomplishment. Meetings and events that do not directly address crime issues reduce fear and encourage participation from all members of the community and are often the impetus for future crime related initiatives.

Bringing law enforcement, youth and adults together to adddress neighborhood concerns

We actively encourage youth to participate in Safe Place activities, take on leadership roles and develop programs for the wider community. Using a community-building model, we foster youth development and leadership through crime awareness. The objective is to directly involve youth in activities that increase a sense of community, neighborhood pride and facilitate crime prevention and safety. Safe and Sound uses a participatory process in which stakeholders, including youth, join in collective problem solving with the goals of improving community safety, promoting community capacity for collective action, and healing the harms imposed by crime. Neighborhood improvement activities that address crime and safety in the neighborhoods will be carried out through the leadership of Safe Place youth. These youth will receive training and education from members of the Community Prosecution Teams, District Attorney’s Community Conferencing Program, Milwaukee Police and Sheriff’s Departments and the Department of Neighborhood Services. They will not only gain valuable skills and knowledge, but become recognized leaders through service to their communities.