by Phillip Kelly
In my opinion, a safe community consists of positive, happy, genuine people, plenty of resources; i.e., money for after school programs, new supplies every quarter like books, pencils, paper, whatever is needed or used mostly by the kids, clean streets and public spaces, no graf ti, homeless people, prostitution, and drug users.
I would say a place like Beverly Hills is very safe; mainly from the many white superstars that live there with plenty of money; a vigilant police force and other members of that community who care and take pride in how the community functions and the ‘rich’ that live there.
My old neighborhood is the exact opposite of what I just described above. Gang plagued, drug infested, crime riddled, bad people with bad intentions in general! The schools are like gang playgrounds and hang out. Families are broken; both parents are not in the home, the home itself is very dysfunctional, and the people have nothing positive to look for.
I think the major hurdle in making my old neighborhood safe is instilling hope into the community that it’s possible to achieve your dreams. After that, it’s the people. Get the people thinking and feeling different in terms of getting rid of the gangs or just ceasing the violence and coming together; stop the selling of drugs, guns, and women. Committing crimes against the elderly or anybody in our community for that matter; teaching the children and helping each other out in raising them up right, and rebuilding everything that’s been destroyed and putting a system in place that will hold this ideology together.
Ultimately, some communities won’t embrace all people for whatever reason and I feel that the people is the common denominator in making the world safe than what it is currently.