NE Phila Connected
Our group came about during a very difficult time. It was founded based on necessity. Our city was under attack. Protests turned into riots. Looters and vandals filled the streets to take advantage of a situation. Fires were started, stores were vandalized, and our peaceful little neighborhood no longer felt like the safe haven where we have always quietly lived.
Starting on May 27, 2020, a few of us gathered to step up for what we love and care for most in this world, the safety and security of our loved ones and our community.
We quickly established our presence to ensure that no damage would be done to our community, and no harm would come to anyone. Day by day, we’ve grown into a very organized group, no longer individuals, but now united as neighbors with a common purpose. We adopted the rules and regulations of the neighborhood watch, which is a program that was established 40 years ago. We patrolled and continue to patrol our streets, monitor our businesses by showing our presence, and unite everyone street by street, house by house regardless of color, religion, ethnicity, gender, social status, age, income, or anything else that was seen as an obstacle, only a few weeks prior to this date.
What started out as 30 people that never knew of each other turned into a group of close to 500 people working hand and hand for the good of the neighborhood. The infamous riot week did not take over the Somerton/Far Northeast Philly area. We were able to deter crime, and were even told by local authorities, that in ten days, we were able to drop crime by 86%. This is all because of all the men and women who stepped up to help patrol our streets. And as of Monday, June 22, 2020, we were officially recognized by City of Philadelphia as a registered Town Watch.
We’ve achieved goals we never intended to set. A diverse community of numberless ethnical groups separated by language, beliefs, religion, education, and socio-economical statuses stood, all as one, to make our community safer. Now, we have become an organized team of dispatchers who control and pinpoint patrolling drivers, operators that monitor social media and all incoming information from endless sources… from concerned citizen, and stationary posts who show their presence at shopping malls and strip plazas.
As of today, all operations are based on volunteer services. All of us, from single mothers that patrol their block for 15 minutes to a young adult who wants to go for a drive in the evening to make sure the neighborhood is safe, are committed to this mission. Even local restaurants contribute drinks and food to drivers, just to help keep things flowing. For most of us this has become a passion project, each dedicated for the sole purpose of creating and keeping a better community. Even in today’s tough times, when the pandemic has left most of us in very vulnerable financial situations, we find money for gas to drive from dusk till dawn, then go to work and to do it all over again. While many of us were feeling most isolated due to quarantine, this provided us a chance to connect and make an difference. It also lead to the realization that we are not alone. We are in this together.
With the extension of operation, more and more businesses got involved in our community.
We have since become an official not-for-profit organization. Businesses and citizens alike contribute to those who stood, and still do support them in every possible way. Local business are willing to invest in new members and existing members of our community to educate and certify them, and prosper their lives to new levels in any possible way, in order to build a better community. Still, businesses are stretched thin, and we hope to be able to be able to receive grants to continue to operate and expand.
Though this all sounds extremely exciting, and it certainly is, our work is not done. Our mission is to serve our community to the fullest, by providing live eyes and ears on the street, to receive feedback from community members in any shape or form, and to fulfill the need of a much needed sense of safety. Our next goal is to take it to next level, and give something in return to our volunteers, fill up their gas tanks, properly mark their vehicles, uniform, educate them with first aid and CPR training, and certify and educate them in any possible way to make them the most capable person, not just to observe and report, but to be a lifesaver when needed most.
After achieving much success, we’ve realized that we can do much more than observe and report. We can unite the community on another level, educate people, integrate new members or reintegrate those who made a wrong choice in the past and need help. We can also help those who don’t know how to ask for help. We are not just here for times of excitement. Now that we know better, we want to do better. We want to keep our community engaged and active. We have many more programs coming up to give back and to unite us as neighbors, and the few steps we have taken is just a quick run into the future of diversity united, beyond the politics.