The same weekend Baltimore reached its 200th murder of the year during a weekend ceasefire, it opened up a new Safe Streets Baltimore site called Woodbourne-McCabe, reported The Baltimore Sun. The Safe Streets program aims to have reformed convicts use their street credibility to mediate disagreements before they erupt into violence. Its motto is “Stop shooting, start living.”
According to its website, “Safe Streets is an evidence-based violence prevention and interruption program that works to reduce shootings and homicides in high violence areas, operated by Catholic Charities in collaboration with the Baltimore City Department of Health.”
The latest site is the 12th one in the program. It is in a rowhouse at York Road and Sheridan Avenue and is run by Shantay Guy. The weekend the Woodbourne-McCabe site opened seven shootings had happened in the neighborhood. Residents are hopeful the site will help mitigate the violence altogether.
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“We are hoping it will help. We are praying it will help … We have to wait and see what happens,” said a woman the Sun identified as Theresa who is a 30-year resident of the neighborhood.
Volunteers at the site will receive training through the Baltimore Community Mediation Center so they can be better equipped for service. The center features an air-conditioned sitting room with plush couches and a flat-screen TV, a kitchen, a conference room, a meditation room, a massage chair, offices and basement work stations.
They have a community commitment that states:
I promise to love my community.
I promise to contribute to peaceful solutions for my community.
I promise to love and respect children, teenagers, adults and the elderly.
I promise that when I am called upon to help my community, I will do my best.
I will rebuild and restore myself and my community.
