"How ya doin'?" Jerrod Lewis said to a woman who came to her door to see what the fuss was. As the program's violence prevention coordinator, Lewis works with community groups and organizes responses to shootings. He gave the woman a flier.
"I'm Jerrod Lewis from Safe Streets," he told her. "You hear about the shooting here? A person died, and we're just saying, `Enough is enough.'"
The marchers waved "Stop the Shooting!" signs in the middle of the street and chanted until a police cruiser pulled up. A cop got out and asked what they were up to. "You guys are free to go about your business," the officer said, "as long as it's peaceful."
Safe Streets' relationship with law enforcement is delicate. To maintain their credibility, the outreach workers do not want to be associated with the police. (They agreed to walk their neighborhood with a reporter and photographer only once, fearing that the community would think they were working with undercover cops.) They stress that their job is not to report crimes, and they do not give information to the police.
Instead, they offer alternatives. Besides helping people find jobs and earn GEDs, they organize movie screenings, basketball games, barbecues and other activities to build relationships and keep kids off the corners. One Friday last fall, Safe Streets partnered with Amazing Grace Church for a night of dance contests and rapping. About 250 people showed up.
"And it was peaceful, which doesn't always happen at outdoor events in this neighborhood," said the church's pastor, the Rev. Karen Brau, who has worked in McElderry for 18 years. She said Safe Streets makes the neighborhood feel cared for in a way it hasn't for a long time.
"People are hungry for peace," she said. "I think this group is hugely important in allowing peace to permeate in people's lives in a way that people are longing for."
The Health Department has asked the Johns Hopkins Center for the Prevention of Youth Violence to evaluate the program.
"We know the idea is a good idea, and it should work," said Phil C. Leaf, the center's director. But the study, due in December, could confirm that.
Expansion on horizon
In March, Safe Streets, funded by a federal grant, will expand to Ellwood Park in East Baltimore. It has already opened a second site, in Union Square in Southwest Baltimore. Sharfstein is trying to secure $2 million to fund those posts and two more through June 2009. Mayor Sheila Dixon has pledged $1 million from the city. Sharfstein hopes to get the rest from foundations and the business community.
Wherever the money comes from, Tard Carter will continue his mission. He recently heard from a client who had been robbed of his marijuana stash. The client wanted to confront the thief. Carter tracked down the thief - another dealer - who said that he was the one who had been robbed. A crowd gathered.
Carter took the dealer and his client to a side street and talked to them. He appealed to them to act like men, not boys high on emotion. Violence was averted when the thief's gang agreed to reimburse Carter's client.
"Is it really that serious that you want to kill a dude over a couple bags of marijuana?" Carter asked.
Everyone wants peace, he said. Sometimes they just need help getting there.
stephen.kiehl@baltsun.com
