The Alliance of Guardian Angels

Have you heard of the Guardian Angels? Many of you have but I would guess more have not. I applaud this organization as they truly are making a difference on our streets, in our neighborhoods, on the internet, and at our schools. They focus on public safety and education; its members are a diverse mixture of all kinds of people from many different types of cultural settings. The men, women and children who make up the 138 chapters of the Guardian Angels have one universal goal - to keep people safe. They believe that everyone has that right and deserves that opportunity. I've known of the Guardian Angels for quite awhile, but it was recently that I began to understand the scope and importance related to what they do. One of the services provided are Safety Patrols. You will find active safety patrols in many of our inner cities. They consist of volunteer Angels who dedicate their time and energy to help protect communities. One unique and interesting approach is the inclusion of inner city youth, in these Safety Patrols. Many if not most other organizations, tend to look upon the inner city youth as a problem rather than a potential solution! The Guardian Angels can cite many human examples that their philosophy on youth empowerment works and results in community ownership and pride. They lead by example and encourage community members to follow their lead, to take responsibility for cleaning up communities and improving street safety. Our current neighborhood watch programs are a result of the Guardian Angel's and their Safety Patrols! The Angels believe in the education and value it as a powerful tool that can change communities and enable individuals to break the cycle of poverty, drugs and crime. They call it an Education Academy and they cover a host of topics all of which are related to public safety. Topics covered include internet safety, gang resistance, violence prevention, bullying, and safety education. Many of the problems that our youth face are the result of our reluctance to get involved. The Guardian Angels get involved on the ground level with a focus on education and intervention. Bullying at school is a real problem and thousands of our youth are victims forced to endure this everyday. Bullying can lead to many other escalating problems, including retaliation violence with weapons such as knives and guns. Gangs are recruiting younger and younger kids with false promises. Many of the youth being recruited don't have strong family structure. They don't have the home environment that most of us are accustom to. This is where the Guardian Angels do wonderful work. They work tirelessly to break the cycle, to build structure, help kids resist gangs and eliminate bullying. More of us, including myself should take a page out of their book and follow the lead of the Guardian Angels in our communities. What type of difference could we make if we all got involved in some type of community service project related to personal safety? How about a leadership training course or maybe something related to self defense and security or even first aid. I encourage you to take a look at everything they do at http://www.guardianangels.org/