City establishes block club training program

Imagine this scene a few months from now – streets are blocked off with no cars in sight. Replacing the cars are barbeque grills, tables, chairs, basketball rims and radios. Everyone is outside.

Children are jumping rope, adults are playing cards and boys are playing basketball – all in the middle of the street. All signs of an annual block party. One South Side block hasn’t had a block club party in several years, but they do meet at least six times throughout each year to discuss their accomplishments and what issues need to be tackled.

They are determined to keep negative elements away. The 7700 block of South Evans Street is quiet, with little traffic. The corners are vacant and globed yard lights illuminate the block. On the southwest corner of the block, a welcome sign tells residents and visitors that littering, loitering and loud music, among other things, are not allowed.

All of this was not possible without the neighbors coming together to maintain a “safe, family-oriented” feeling of the block. Block clubs are the key to safe neighborhoods. They are the light that shines in dark places, said Vance Henry, the director of the Chicago Police Department’s Chicago Alternative Policing Strategies department.

Alice Lane works closely with the 77th and Evans Block Club president. At the beginning of each year she makes sure that each home has a “We Call Police” sign. About a week before the next meeting, she puts a flyer about the upcoming meeting in each mailbox. “The main thing is to get to know your neighbors.

When we come together and think more alike, we make our block stronger. We can keep out violence and make sure that children can play outside, safely,” Lane told the Defender. To prevent drugs and violence from taking control of the area, residents of the block attend monthly CAPS meetings together and form alliances with neighboring block clubs.

One day last summer a few neighbors noticed something unusual on one of the block’s corners – drug selling. Their common goal was to rid the area of drugs. It worked.

The activity didn’t last past one hour after it began. Residents called 9-1-1 every three minutes with descriptive details about the sellers, users and all cars – complete with license plate numbers – involved in the transactions.

In addition to calling the emergency number, the residents called directly to the district’s tactical unit, said William Story, a former resident who now resides in a nursing home. The collective calling paid off. While neighbors unnoticeably peered out of their windows waiting for lights and sirens to come down the street, plain-clothed Gresham police district officers had already put a plan in motion.

Tactical officers set up an undercover operation on a porch close to the corner where the activity was taking place. As each transaction was completed, the officers began arresting the sellers and the users. The “operation” lasted about 20 minutes, long enough to get the message across, Story said. The block hasn’t had a problem with drug activity since.

While the Evans block has been successful in maintaining control of their area, other blocks aren’t as successful. The city took notice and developed a “school program,” in partnership with the City Colleges of Chicago and CAPS, to teach block club leaders and neighbors how to organize a strong presence.

“We have to continue reclaiming and restoring our neighborhoods,” Henry said at a block club convention earlier this month. Called the “Block Club University,” the CCC will offer free continuing education courses for leaders looking to start a block club, and for veterans to revamp existing ones. For more information contact the CAPS Implementation Office, 312-747-9987.

______ Copyright 2008 Chicago Defender. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

About Post Author

Comments

From the Web

Skip to content