Cleveland Reporter

Cleveland, OH – On Wednesday evening, the Bibb administration hosted two community initiatives in the Glenville neighborhood to promote safety and violence prevention, including the Youth Programs Summer Canvass Series and Mayor Justin M. Bibb’s first Neighborhood Safety Walk. 

Over the past month, teams of 30 City and Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) staff have knocked on approximately 6,000 doors in neighborhoods across the city. The goal of the outreach is to increase enrollment in free youth programs offered by the City’s 22 recreation centers, Camp Forbes and CMSD’s Summer Learning Experience.  

Mayor Bibb joined staff for outgoing CMSD CEO Eric Gordon and staff for the launch of the canvass series on May 11 and will return with new CMSD CEO Dr. Warren Morgan on June 21 to walk and talk to residents in the Cudell neighborhood.  

In addition to ongoing efforts to engage young people, last night Mayor Bibb was joined by members of cabinet, police district representatives and community relations specialists following the canvass to walk and talk to residents in Glenville about recent crimes and offer support.  

This is the first of five scheduled Neighborhood Safety Walks planned over the summer to increase the visibility of the Cleveland Division of Police and build relationships with residents.  

Throughout the evening, Mayor Bibb stopped to talk to residents on their porches to hear their stories and suggestions to make the neighborhood safer and spoke to a local business owner at a nearby convenience store, which has recently experienced an increase in violence and criminal activity. 

“It’s important to me that we are out in our neighborhoods to hear directly from residents about what is going on and how my administration can help curb violence. This is the type of on-the-ground, community policing that I had growing up in Mt. Pleasant and I’m committed to bringing it back. This is not a one-and-done stunt, it is the start of building a genuine and ongoing relationship between police, my cabinet and our communities,” said Mayor Bibb. 

Over the next few months, Mayor Bibb and city officials will be walking in all five police districts. 

Original source can be found here.