The Washington Street/Talbot Avenue Corridor Safe Neighborhood Initiative (SNI) held its first community-wide safety meeting this month to facilitate the communication and collaboration among residents, youth, businesses and government agencies around the effort of improving the quality of life in the area and reducing violent crime.
 
Over 80 people (about 60 of them representing organizations or government agencies and about 20 being residents of the area) convened at the Perkins Community Center on January 9 to begin the work.  After listening to 3 speakers give very short endorsements of the Initiative and viewing a powerpoint presentation explaining the Initiative, the participants broke into groups of 8.  Each group, led by a prepared facilitator, spent 40 minutes listing their concerns and desires in three areas:  1) key problems facing the community, 2) resources in the community (both untapped and underutilized), and 3) goals they wish to see the SNI pursue.
 
The Washington Street/Talbot Avenue Corridor Safe Neighborhood Intiative (SNI) serves the area bound by Washington Street (eastern border), Blue Hill Avenue (western border), Columbia Road (northern border), and Armandine Street (southern border).
 
The lists created by the small groups are being transcribed and emailed to all attendees at the Jan 9 meeting and will be made available at the next Community-Wide Safety Meeting scheduled for Thursday, February 21, 6:00-9:00 at the Blue Hill Avenue Boys and Girls Club (15 Talbot Avenue).  This date falls during the school vacation week for BPS students.  The SNI seeks the participation and leadership of youth, and especially wishes to convey its desire to attract youth to these community meetings and to serving on the steering committee.  
 
"We would like have a great many more residents, especially youth, at our community meetings and on our steering committee," noted Adam Gibbons, the SNI project coordinator.  "We will be conducting monthly community meetings for months and years to come, but we hope residents - both adults and youth - will come out soon, as we are working in the next couple of meetings on developing our goals and vision for the SNI's work.  With so many agencies and resources at the table - at our monthly steering committee meetings - District Attorney, police, re-entry specialists and organizations, street workers, youth advocates and youth services, DYS, DSS, health centers, Boys and Girls club, businesses and resident - the SNI is an initiative with unique resources to connect residents/businesses with agencies that can coordinate and collaborate in response to specific concerns and requests in the community."
 
For more information about the Safe Neighborhood Initiative, contact the project coordinator, Adam Gibbons, at 617-822-8378 or adam.gibbons@state.ma.us