- Youngstown, Ohio, Launches Downtown Ambassador Program. For The Business Journal Daily, Guy D’Astolfo reports on the recently launched team of safety ambassadors that “has begun walking downtown streets to assist visitors and residents, build relationships with businesses and keep the area clean and safe.” The safety ambassador team—in visible uniforms of “navy blue pants with polo jerseys, so that they are easily identifiable” by residents, business owners, and shoppers—will be on patrol during the week, “walking downtown streets to pick up litter, answer the questions of visitors, learn the needs of business owners and serve as the eyes and ears of police.”
City Councilman Julius Oliver, a champion for the safety ambassador team, explained to the newspaper that “the purpose of the ambassador program is to keep the area clean, safe and inviting….residents and visitors will know that there’s always somebody watching… ‘We heard the cry of businesses and the community, they want to feel safer…[this] will provide a visible and approachable presence downtown.”
- “Cincinnati’s Downtown Ambassadors Add Visible Layer Of Safety Amid Rising Crime Concerns.” For Spectrum News 1, Javari Burnett reports on Cincinnati “city leaders leaning on more than just police patrols to maintain a sense of security… as concerns about public safety continue to rise in Cincinnati’s downtown core… [launching] a team of Downtown Ambassadors patrols the streets daily.” The team of 85 full-time ambassadors, and a summer expansion that added an additional 120 part-time ambassadors for “an added layer of that sense of security,” are uniformed in bright green shirts for easy visibility, “receive extensive training, including how to identify when to step in and when to call for police support” and are “tasked with everything from offering directions to de-escalating tense situations… to create a cleaner, safer, and more welcoming environment for residents, workers and visitors.”
The effort is already paying off, local businesses have reported to the city. One down jewelry store owner, Maria Lipps, explained to the news station that “the ambassadors make a visible and valuable difference… ‘these guys have walkie talkies and they are literally here within three to five minutes after a phone call. They really help just give a presence to that ‘We care about downtown Cincinnati and keeping this place safe.’”
- Colorado Springs Launches “Clean And Safe” Ambassador Team “To Improve The Image And Quality Of Life In Downtown.” For The Colorado Springs Gazette, Brennen Kauffman reports on the new Clean And Safe team “clad in fluorescent yellow vests and backpacks” who patrol the streets of downtown Colorado Springs “on the lookout for lost tourists, businesses that need a hand or struggling residents.” The team has three core functions—safety patrols, cleanup, and homeless outreach—and is divided into separate units to handle each:
- The safety patrol unit is composed of a dozen trained ambassadors who have “someone on the streets Wednesday through Sunday, between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m.” That team has also received a boost this summer with a pilot program that adds an additional safety team “running patrols 16 to 18 hours a day, more than double the number of hours they’d previously worked.” In just the first two weeks of operation, the team had already “stopped by businesses 278 times and assisted with 232 visitors.”
- The clean team starts “their shift [on] Thursday morning” and helps to restore a sense of order downtown through everything from graffiti removal, to throwing away trash, to wrangling unused public scooters and bikes.
- The homeless outreach team “can connect people with housing resources, health care providers or other resources depending on their need… Outreach can take several days [working with and providing resources to] homeless or unwell residents … before they trust them enough to talk about their larger needs.”