This week Springfield’s South End neighborhood got extra attention not just from area newsrooms hungry for more crime news to attract aggrieved eyeballs, but from one-day visitors from New York City, the Guardian Angels. Blogger Bill Dusty has all the gritty details. From his post:
[Angel Arnaldo Salinas] said two Guardian Angels would be sent back here periodically to help in the recruitment and training of new, local members. The training of new members typically takes about three months. That training includes self-defense, first aid, CPR, working with law enforcement, and also communicating with local residents to gain their confidence and their trust. The Angels are also dedicated to providing positive role models for youngsters in troubled communities.
In addition to the Angels, the South End should be seeing a report sometime soon now, delayed and belated and such, but still forthcoming, from a technical assistance panel of the Boston-based chapter of the Urban Land Institute. One reason for the delay, I’m told, is that this report will be a first for the chapter in terms of the way it is being generated: first a national panel visit with targeted recommendations, followed by a regional panel that focuses on a particular set of needs and issues. The standard for the printed report is apparently something approaching perfection in its attention to detail, which perhaps makes ULI-Boston and the Guardian Angels unlikely cohorts.
I’m still hopeful the South End can gain attention that lasts for more than just one day, but maybe something along the lines of people willing to relocate there and give it something good to last a little longer.
