SafeWalk Takes You Home
Leah Todd of SafeWalk is ready to walk you home. Photo: J. Flood
If you feel sketchy walking home in Brooklyn late at night and you don’t want to spring for a cab, there’s someone you can call. Starting in May, SafeWalk, a burgeoning volunteer program, will see people home on Friday nights from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m., serving Greenpoint, Williamsburg, Bed-Stuy, Bushwick, Clinton Hill and Fort Greene.
At a recent informational session, coordinator Leah Todd explained that volunteers convene with their bikes at a predetermined location on Friday nights. Folks needing an escort can call (866) 977-WALK (9255), which forwards the call directly to a volunteer’s cell phone. At least two SafeWalk volunteers will bike to meet the caller and see them safely to their destination.
The program began in 2006 in response to a spate of assaults in Williamsburg. After a hiatus in 2007, the entirely volunteer-run service returned last year and is now seeking volunteers for 2009. SafeWalk volunteers commit to one Friday a month, and one team covers the entire area.
“We can travel a decent area given 10-15 minutes on a bicycle,” said Todd. SafeWalk serves an area as far north as Greenpoint and as far South as Atlantic Avenue. While waiting for calls, volunteers ride around, give out cards and put up fliers advertising the service. Unlike RightRides, which receives funding to serve women, trandgender and gender-queer persons specifically, SafeWalk is available to anyone.
“If you’re not totally comfortable, call us. That’s what we’re there for,” said Todd. “You’re not bothering us!”
SafeWalk aims to serve Brooklyn bargoers, but also wants to reach out to people walking home—or to other destinations—from work or the subway. Follow SafeWalk’s Twitter feed for more information—they are planning a kickoff event in May. If you’re interested in volunteering, email safewalknyc@gmail.com.
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ChangesBrooklyn is a local blog reporting on volunteerism in the borough. Here you will find multimedia profiles, analysis, and stories about civic service in our neighborhoods.
Authors Jim Flood and Valerie Lapinski are Brooklyn residents and students at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism.
To contribute tips or share a link, please email changesbrooklyn@gmail.com.
[...] to see how national initiatives for volunteerism will play out, and how many programs like SafeWalk will thrive: programs that are wholly volunteer-run and don’t depend on specified grants or [...]
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