By Megan Sayles
AFRO Business Writer
msayles@afro.com
Four District-based community organizations just received $10 million to further the work of the Safe Passage, Safe Blocks program, which supports D.C. youth as they travel to and from school.
Mayor Muriel Bowser awarded the funding to the Center for Nonprofit Advancement (CNA), Collaborative Solutions for Communities (CSC), Georgia Avenue Family Support Collaborative (GAFSC) and National Association for the Advancement of Returning Citizens (NAARC) in November.
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According to a 2018 report by the Urban Institute, 22 percent of District students take public transit to school and 23 percent walk to school. Ensuring they can navigate their journey safely is critical to their participation in school.
“The Safe Passage, Safe Blocks program goes hand in hand with our work to ensure students are in school every day, on time,” said Mayor Muriel Bowser in a statement. “When students feel safe on their commutes to school, we know they are more likely to show up and be successful, so we’re grateful to the Safe Passage teams who are helping our students succeed.”
The Safe Passage, Safe Blocks funding will be used in 12 priority area across D.C.: Anacostia, Brookland, Columbia Heights, Congress Heights, Eastern/Stadium Armory, Fort Totten, L’Enfant Plaza, Minnesota Avenue, NoMA, Petworth/Brightwood, Potomac Avenue and Tenleytown.
The program supports the hiring and training of Safe Passage Ambassadors, who live in the communities they support. Wearing green vests, they are posted along school routes and help provide conflict resolution and mediation.
“They are individuals who know children and families in the community, who are invested in their community and who provide an additional layer of visible safety, particularly for young children,” said Cameron Shuster, Safe Passage, Safe Blocks program manager for NAARC. “If a young child in elementary, middle or even high school is feeling unsafe, they have a multitude of trusted adults who are stationed throughout the school zone, transportation routes or metro stations.”
Schuster’s organization exists to deliver wrap-around services for returning citizens with the goal of helping them to become productive members of society and to avoid re-incarceration. He explained that the Safe Passage, Safe Blocks program enables them to reduce the amount of local youth entering the prison system.
“It’s absolutely essential in a landscape where there’s a lot of gun violence and, unfortunately, a lot of generational trauma that we have support services ensuring our youth are able to safely enter and exit the school building, get home safely and be productive during the day” said Schuster.
He explained that students can face a number of public safety threats as they commute to school. They may also be tempted or coerced to participate in delinquency.
“It’s anywhere from community-based violence, to open drug sales, to robberies, to theft of jackets, footwear and sneakers,” said Schuster. “Children can be lured into nefarious behavior that they otherwise would have not been susceptible to if they lived in wealthier communities where there are less socioeconomic problems.”
Schuster noted that the work of the Safe Passage, Safe Blocks program contributes to broader neighborhood safety, especially for Black and Brown communities.
“We face a different level of violence that has perpetrated itself upon communities of color in the United States,” said Schuster. “Any program that provides wrap-around service to assist our youth in not just achieving school but being able to live trauma-free lives and feel safe within their community is very important. I don’t think a price tag can be put on that.”
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