Officials Want to Clean Up ‘ Our Streets’

By Kathryn N. Jones

Outlook Writer

Local citizens and officials took to the streets of the Southside Saturday evening June 6 to launch Operation Safe Neighborhoods.

Local pastors, Tallahassee law enforcement and leaders of the community put Operation Safe Neighborhoods together in order to help make Tallahassee safer. The slogan of the operation is “See Something, Say Something, Do Something.”

Leading the crowd on the walk was Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum.

“Tonight we are walking this Southside community to let the people who are living in this area know that we care about them, that we know they have been besieged by crime lately and that we are all in this together as one community,” Gillum said.

The people who participated in the operation walked door to door and passed out information and resource packages to Southside residents.

“It’s an important message to let them know that these are our streets,” Gillum said. “They don’t belong to criminals. They belong to us and in order for us to reclaim them we got to do activities like this that put us in the neighborhood and put us in contact with the people who are dealing with these issues on a day- to-day basis.”

Gillum hopes the people who live in these key areas realize that they are not in this alone and that Tallahassee is one community and he is willing to do whatever it takes to take these streets back.

In order to aid the operation, the Tallahassee Police Department has provided a mobile command unit that will be in these key areas every Saturday night throughout the summer.

Rev. Julius McAllister, Jr., the pastor of Bethel A.M.E Church located on the Southside, joined his family as participants in the operation.

McAllister said there are several things he hopes and prays come from this particular operation. He said his first hope is that the community will come together as one.

“I believe that when we come together as one and we know each other then we can continue to build on a great legacy and foundation that we have here in Tallahassee,” said McAllister.

McAllisters said his second hope is to help convince residents to find other solutions than resorting to violence.

“There is a much better way then using a gun or weapon to release the frustration that you have in your spirits,” explained McAllister.

McAllister said he also hopes local children understand the community is in this together.

“Ultimately we are trying to raise a new generation, a different generation, so that they will understand the importance of getting along with each other, working together and being able to talk your issues, problems and concerns out,” McAllister said.

As the participants of the operation walked the streets the residents smiled while accepting the packages.

A resident who did not want to be named said, “I’m happy to see that they really care about what we are dealing with on this side of town. Hopefully we see a change.”