Creative ways a South Bend neighborhood is teaching kids safety

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Some South Bend residents have been saying that they are fed up with the violence and they say "enough is enough."  Some blocks are taking some creative and fun measures to inform the kids in their neighborhood on how to stay safe. 

"There has been increased patrols in the area, officers out on foot, on bicycles, and patrol cars throughout the city," said Sergeant Paul Moring of South Bend Police Department.

 

South Bend Police have been patrolling extra carefully lately with the increased amount of shootings. They ask that parents talk to their kids on how to stay safe. 

"If they see anything suspicious in the neighborhood, let their parents know immediately, contact the authorities as well in situations like that and not to take it upon themselves to handle the matter especially if it involves gun violence," says Moring.

On College Street in South Bend, Doris and Jacquelyne have taken it upon themselves to teach kids in their neighborhood to be safe while having fun with friends.

"We are trying to keep the kids around us, as much as possible, in the house, having them clean up the area," says Jacquelyne Williams, a South Bend resident.  "This one here, he cuts grass, and this one here, and all these guys here, they clean up the neighborhood, that’s what they are trying to do.”

These women take the kids on walks to pick up trash and on Saturday they even threw a block party to celebrate how well the kids are keeping up their street.

"All these people, we know each other, we are all family, please believe me, if one of these kids do something oh there parents are going to know about it because their parents are going to find out," says Jacquelyne.

They believe that they key to a safe neighborhood is a clean neighborhood, and having the kids that live there informed on how to stay safe is important."

"I am trying to tell everybody to come towards my house so we can negotiate and stop all the violence, and guns and shootings, and everything because there are a lot of people out here getting killed, and these babies all around do not need to be involved in that," says Doris, a South Bend resident.

South Bend Police also offer a neighborhood watch program and other tools to teach residents how to stay safe in violent situations.