Safe Streets Baltimore Working To Help Inform City Residents About Coronavirus Safety
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A Baltimore city group that normally works to quell violence around the city is now shifting their focus to educating those same neighbors about coronavirus.
Safe Streets Baltimore, which was founded in 2007, spent Tuesday walking around the Park Heights neighborhood to educate residents about the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing and staying home. Park Heights is among the zip code 21215 with the highest number of coronavirus cases in the state.
Rashad Singletary is the Manager for Safe Streets Baltimore. They promote public health and safe distancing during these challenging times.
He walks up to WJZ with a mask on, and does an elbow bump with photojournalist, Eric Dolezar before he steps behind the microphone for an interview.
Singletary is still pushing his stop the violence message and sharing a new one to hopefully stop the spread of coronavirus.
"We want to make sure while the pandemic is active in our community, that we have individuals who can come into our area that help diffuse any type of violence," he says.
Before walking throughout the neighborhood, he glances at the people sitting too close to each other at the bus stop.
"We're trying to stop THAT," he says with a furrowed brow.
"We're maintaining our social distancing to make sure we don't get infected or we infect someone else in case somebody does have it. What we're doing is canvassing the hot spots in our community, or our target area."
As the group of five walks along Belvedere Avenue, they walk side by side knowing there's much more work to be done, but it's a challenge they're willing to take on.
Jarma Henson is also in the group.
"We just try to go out and deal with different ways of dealing with violence and let them know you don't always have to deal with situations with violence."
Another team on the front lines when Baltimore needs it now more than ever.
For the latest information on coronavirus go to the Maryland Health Department's website or call 211. You can find all of WJZ's coverage on coronavirus in Maryland here.