Safety Patrols

As Frances and Chester Sliwa told their son from a very young age,  “If you’re willing to do the hard work – no matter how crazy the idea – we will support you. But the day we see you not rolling up your shirtsleeves and doing the bulk of the work and the heavy lifting, that’s it. We’re not going to support the effort.”  This philosophy permeates the Guardian Angels today who stand ready to assist those willing to step up and get involved.

Rising criminal activity and decreased public services can paralyze communities. This is when the We Not I philosophy of the Guardian Angels is so powerful. Where residents have reached out to keep their neighborhoods safe, the Guardian Angels have lent a hand to help locals establish neighborhood Safety Patrols. Guided by principles of honesty, dependability and persistence, volunteers empower themselves and selflessly protect others.

The Guardian Angels have always ascribed to a philosophy of open membership as evidenced by the diversity of its membership. They are not concerned with gender, age, sexuality or race and require only the commitment to pursue the betterment of their community. By observing the overwhelmingly positive impact of joining together to achieve results, volunteers have come to realize that it is within their collective reach to create the quality of life they so desperately seek. This realization has turned hopelessness into empowerment, fear into friendliness and the caring individual into a powerful collective.

The Guardian Angels also understand the importance of changing the atmosphere in a neighborhood. The change in atmosphere is a change in attitude. An attitude of urgency in taking back the streets from the criminals. An attitude that we can retrieve the quality of life that rightfully belongs to us only if we think and care about one another. An attitude of understanding that the only permanent solution is to develop programs that will approach street crime at the community level by involving everyone whom the problem affects. Instead of waiting for other solve the problem, the Guardian Angels help people recognize that they should be turning to themselves because they are most capable of solving their community’s problems.