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No Longer the Underdog

Ambassador Spotlight: Uledus Roseman

In 1991, Uledus Roseman left his past in Missouri and arrived in St.Paul, Minnesota, with only $50 in his pocket. He craved a fresh start, but the journey ahead still held many challenges.

Growing up, Uledus did not have an easy upbringing. He was raised by his grandmother in Sedalia, Missouri. Once he turned eight, Uledus was reunited with his mother in Oakland, California. He witnessed the abusive marriage his mother was in, which negatively affected his educational abilities.

While attending Hamilton Junior High School, Uledus’s mother frequently pulled him out of school. Unable to stay on track with his peers, he developed learning differences and a stutter, setting another challenge before him. Uledus was put into the special ed program, preventing him from achieving a high school diploma. Instead, the school awarded him a certificate of attendance.

“I felt like the underdog my whole life,” Uledus shared.

Up until his early thirties, he battled with substance addiction, but he didn’t stay the underdog he presumed himself to be for long. Uledus felt a spiritual guidance to take control of his life and rise like a phoenix.

“I was always so hard on myself, but I have so much to prove. I didn’t want to let people down,” Uledus said. The memories of his two special ed teachers encouraged Uledus to strive for more.

“They invested so much time in me. They were like my moms away from home,” he added, “I wanted to break the underdog mold.”

He enrolled at the Minneapolis Community and Technical College to pursue a degree in addiction counseling. Due to his learning challenges, Uledus had his work cut out for him. He needed to start his degree by taking high school-level English and reading classes.

“I flunked the high school level English twice before I could pass it,” he added, “I even had to get a tutor to help.”

Uledus landed an internship opportunity working at a transitional center while attending college. After graduation, he gained experience working as a chemical dependency tech and a CNA at a veteran’s home before pursuing his career in outreach work.

He joined the Livability Team with the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District and Block by Block in 2021. He began helping the city’s vulnerable population by connecting them with the right resources or providing quick assistance.

“This job has changed my life in so many ways,” Uledus shares, “This job is like a Tylenol because whatever you have going on in your life, it doesn’t compare to what some people experience.”

He witnessed some difficult things on the field, but it hasn’t discouraged him from continuously supporting his community. Uledus’s desire to help others rise pushed him to discover a passion for motivational speaking.

He often braves the starling cold while most people are sound asleep to record motivational messages for his YouTube channel. In his videos, Uledus discusses life and creating a vision for the future. Some of his videos include “Living a Clean Life”, “Your Thermostat of Life” and “The Front Row”.

Uledus hopes to inspire others to work hard and overcome their challenges. Because he was deeply motivated by his special ed teachers, he hopes to do the same for other high school students.

“It’s more than just doing motivational speaking. I want to bring that motivational element to anything I do,” Uledus said.

Collaboration Effect

Crafting a Safe and Welcoming Minneapolis

Over 34 million people travel to Minneapolis each year looking to enjoy the thriving art scene, outdoor culture, and friendly atmosphere. With tourism on track to return to its pre-pandemic levels throughout 2023 and 2024, the city continues to be well equipt for its visitors by streamlining its cleaning, safety, and hospitality efforts.

The dispatch center, located within the 1st Precinct of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD), houses a small team of people who operate as the eyes and ears for Downtown Minneapolis around the clock. This group of individuals relays information to the Ambassadors on the streets, assists the unhoused population by connecting them with the right services, and works to prevent crime when possible.

“We work in tandem with law enforcement. For our Ambassadors, we are the extra eyes and ears in case of emergencies or if they need any information, ” describes Lyle, a dispatch team member.

In partnership with 70 plus downtown businesses, the Minneapolis Police Department, and the DID Ambassador program, the dispatch team manages reliable and effective communication between the outlets. This pristine communication network ensures safety and outstanding hospitality on the city streets.

“There are many moving pieces between all the things we monitor and the groups we connect with,” Victoria, the dispatch manager, adds.

With access to 127 cameras in the downtown districts, dispatch can spot unusual behavior and send in the right team. Some instances include requesting Emergency Medical Services to help a hurt individual, reporting an offense to MPD for further investigation, directing Ambassadors away from possible danger, and sending in Livability to assist unhoused community members.

“We have the ability to spot things and get the right people on the scene. For example, we can spot individuals who need welfare checks and send out Livability to check up on them,” says Lyle.

In addition to monitoring the streets, the dispatch center is closely connected to the business security offices through the radio-link system. This radio communication network between the dispatch team and the downtown institutions is another layer of added security. To be a part of the communication radio-link network, businesses must meet certain criteria within their safety protocols, for example participating in roll call during designated times.

Business security can provide more awareness for the dispatch team beyond the outdoor premises with their access to cameras within buildings. During large events such as concerts and sporting events, dispatch will facilitate a perimeter check to ensure the rooftops, skyways, and parking ramps are safe and secure.

“We want to have this high level of awareness to ensure we are on the same page,” Katherine, a dispatch member, adds.

Beyond looking out for the safety of the downtown community and the Ambassadors, the dispatch elevates the quality of the hospitality services. In real-time, the dispatch team can pinpoint answers such as business hours and locations, bus routes and schedules, and much more. This allows Ambassadors to perform excellent hospitality, no matter the question.

“It is great to know that we are not out there on our own,” says Terry, a DID Safety Ambassador.

For more than eleven years, the powerful collaboration between the dispatch team, downtown businesses, law enforcement, and hospitality programming still continues to deliver non-emergency services in Downtown Minneapolis efficiently. All the services working in sync create a safer, cleaner, and friendlier environment for residents and visitors.

“We are the behind-the-scenes resource, making sure we provide extra protection and safety for downtown and our Ambassadors,” Lyle says.

Downtown Ambassadors are the ‘eyes and ears of the street’ keeping Frederick postcard perfect

Photo by Bill Green, The Frederick News-Post
Dwayne Brooks, a greeter with the Downtown Frederick Ambassador Program, hands out maps of the town to area businesses people like Gillian Berluti, manager of Firestone’s Market on North Market Street.

Originally posted by Joeseph Peterson, Special to The News-Post

Photo by Bill Green, The Frederick News-Post

“We’re out here walking the streets, we’re meeting people, we’re greeting them and talking to them, making them feel welcome,” said Dwayne Brooks, a supervisor of that team known as the Downtown Ambassadors.

Photo by Bill Green, The Frederick News-Post

Luckily, Brooks was on duty when a man in a nice suit, who had evidently knocked back a few too many, started stumbling into the street, trying to remember where he parked his car. The man was able to get assistance not only to get out of the immediate danger of the street but to find a better way home than driving a car in his condition.

“It’s been great. The business owners love us here,” said Dixon, who previously worked with an ambassador program in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor neighborhood. “The ambassadors in Frederick are great. They’ve built a great relationship with the business owners and guests before I even got here. I’m just helping to keep it going, keep them motivated.”

Photo by Bill Green, The Frederick News-Post

A Memorable Moment

Ambassador Spotlight: Larry Willaims

Imagine showing up to work on a day that feels just like any other but encountering one of the most prolific artists in history, who happens to notice your work. For starters, the odds of running into a large celebrity name in Downtown Minneapolis aren’t very great, and to be appreciated by one is even rarer. But that’s exactly the type of day Larry Williams experienced on January 21st of 2016.

On a Thursday, Larry arrived at the MDID/Block by Block (Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District) headquarters and got ready for his shift. He headed out with his fellow teammates to the streets of Downtown Minneapolis to greet residents and visitors and clean up the blocks. While he was hard at work, sweeping the area by the Dakoda Jazz Club, he was being noticed.

Later that day, the MDID Ambassadors were approached by none other than Prince himself. Throughout his success, he kept his hometown of Minneapolis close to his heart. He valued the work the Ambassadors were providing for the city, so he invited the workers to a private show at his home. Larry was a part of the small VIP list of Ambassadors who were welcomed to attend, but he was considering not going.

“I can’t go to it. I got nothing to wear, and I can’t afford to miss work,” Larry recalls saying.

That is when Anna Schmoll, current Regional Vice President but MDID Operations Manager at the time, stepped in to convince Larry to attend this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“It was very short notice, and the performance was going to take place during the evening shifts, but when will anyone get an opportunity like this again?” Anna said. “I even offered to give rides to those who didn’t have one,” she added.

Anna, Larry, and several other Ambassadors waited at the back of the line until they were rushed to the front of the room to watch the performance. The private event only had 200 attendees, some of whom were the Ambassadors.

“It was just Prince playing the piano. No band or any other distractions,” Larry added about the experience. He revealed this to be one of his most memorable moments, and he was thankful Anna encouraged him to attend.

Eleven years later, Larry Williams still works as an MDID Ambassador at Block by Block. He tried many different roles, from cleaning to safety, and currently works as a Special Project Amabassador. Larry valued the compassionate and understanding nature of management. Beyond the encouragement to make memories, the current leadership team worked with Larry on his work schedule flexibility.

“I am a single father with two little kids. A two-year-old and a three-year-old,” Larry said.

He shared that due to the difficulties of finding child care, and his father’s stroke, he was granted a leave of absence by the management team to prioritize his family first. Larry is grateful to work among caring individuals.

“Not once did they question me about the time I needed off. They saw me as a person and understood my situation,” added Larry.

Employers play a crucial role in the job satisfaction of employees. It remains highly important to Block by Block to hire and promote managers who strive to create relationships with their employees. Whether it’s’ encouraging an employee to partake in an experience or being flexible and understanding, everything adds up to a fun and rewarding work environment.

“Everybody faces a challenge in their life, and building relationships with employees makes them more comfortable communicating that with us,” Anna commented.

The Livability Network

Downtown Minneapolis Caring For All Its Residents

Out of 75,729 total interactions made by the Ambassadors in 2022, 3,746 were interactions between a special outreach team and residents requiring assistance. This data highlights that hospitality services offered in Downtown Minneapolis extend beyond friendly greetings or location findings. MDID and other groups in Downtown Minneapolis are working to extend hospitality to all members of the community, including the city’s most vulnerable residents.

In 2016, Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District (MDID), in collaboration with Block by Block, added social outreach services to its Ambassador programming – also known as the Livability Team. The team is comprised of four passionate individuals who work around the clock, reaching out to people and connecting them with resources offered in Hennepin County.

The job fulfilled by the Livability Team takes patience and positivity. It’s more than showing up to work and going through the motions. Being a Livability team member requires grit. It is a career that takes compassion, communication, kindness, and much more. Many traits in these team members contribute to their ability to help others.

These four individuals are the architects of networking. They establish connections with various community programs designed to help the unsheltered population, and they hold a vast knowledge of all the different resources people can be connected with. The Livability Team bridges the gap between those who require assistance and the organizations that offer aid. In addition, the team has direct contact with the Hennepin Country social worker to deliver the right help straightaway.

The Livability Team ensures when they are out on the field, they meet each individual where they are. While maintaining their professionalism, sometimes this requires using the same dialect as the person they are communicating with or maintaining the same eye level height. Meeting people where they are, requires seeing people on equal ground and locking away any presumptions.

“Being slow to speak but quick to listen,” Uledus, a Livability team member of almost two years, shares to be his number one rule.

Being present and self-aware is key to providing the proper outreach to the individuals requiring assistance. “Building trust is essential and takes time. But it is also important to recognize just because they trust you doesn’t mean they will trust others,” Clarence, another Livability team member, says.

The team begins their day by going to locations where people tend to spend prolonged periods of time and perform wellness checks. This includes making sure everyone is well and not requiring medical assistance. While making the first round of check-ins, it is also a great time to see if they can provide quick aid, like handing out gloves, hand warmers, water, and snacks. The workday begins by showing care.

Once the initial rounds of check-ins are complete, Livability Ambassadors scout individuals who they have been in contact with previously. Each Livability team member keeps a list of individuals they connect with regularly. This allows them to form consistent communication and build meaningful relationships. All interactions are tracked through Block by Block’s SMART System to record any resources individuals were connected with or the progress made.

It’s important to recognize that asking for help is easier said than done, which is the case for many residents. In many instances, the Livability Ambassadors will only engage in brief conversations to show their presence; over time, they will aim to develop a meaningful relationship.

“People have difficulty asking for help or accepting it. Some people need help just to ask for help.” Clarence expresses.

“We also do not want to enable people. We want to inspire and educate them to turn their own lives around.” Uledus adds.

The Liveability Team works hard to help as many people as possible, and sometimes getting an individual to accept help or take a step in the right direction is a huge victory.

Clarence experienced firsthand the impact he brings to the community. Recently, he was stopped by a man he failed to recognize. Clarence was unaware that he was being approached by someone who he had helped a year ago. The man was filled with emotions. He thanked Clarance for helping him find a place, a job and connecting him with immigrant resources.

“We are not the solution, but more the facilitator to get individuals the right help. We are just the start of the solution, but we can act the mitigator or be the middle person for whatever is needed,” Uledus addresses a common misconception about his role.

“We are also not enforcers. We do not push anything on individuals or remove them from certain locations. We are simply there to help in any way we can,” Clarence adds.

Minneapolis has hundreds of resources the Livability team members can connect people with. Their connection list includes St.Stephen’s Street Outreach, House of Charity, Hennepin Country Shelter Team, and COPE, to list a few. The organizations provide a long list of services and support that includes meals and showers, shelters and housing, health care, mental health care, trauma care, life emergency assistance, literacy assistance, and more.

The Liveability Team understands the importance of establishing a network. It is crucial to work with others. Fruitful networking adds more resources to the list and empowers others to help in any way possible. Setting a precedent for networking unlocks new ways of supporting those needing assistance. It broadens the scope of reaching more individuals with the right help.

“Understanding that you are not the solution is key. Collaboration is the force behind our success. This creates a movement for people to help as well. It is a powerful thing. ” Uledus affirms.

Just as with any profession, the Livability Team faces its own challenges, but it’s maintaining a positive outlook that helps them overcome adversity.

“It is hard work, yet it is important to go above and beyond. It is not about doing what is required but doing more.” Clarence says.

The Livability Team encourages the Minneapolis community to continue to be open-minded.

“Don’t judge. We are always quick to judge others, but being unhoused or facing a difficult time can happen to anyone.” Uledus shares. “It takes time to build trust, and most individuals are not quick to ask for help, especially if there are factors like mental health and substance abuse at play.”

“Being kind can get you a long way!” Clarance adds.

The SMART Way to Hospitality

Telling a Story Through Data Tracking

In 2022 alone, the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District (MDID) Ambassadors provided 58,351 hospitality assists to visitors and residents in Downtown Minneapolis. This is a prime example of the data tracked through the SMART System, representing the incredible work completed by the Ambassadors.

The SMART System, which stands for Statistics Management and Ambassador Reporting Technology, is a technological tool for downtown districts developed by Block by Block. The SMART System supports field managers in their planning, informing them of the most current information, and it creates a sense of accomplishment for the Ambassadors. It provides data collection, accountability, and reporting all in one spot. The SMART System is constantly evolving, delivering more accurate data and tracking tools to stay up to date with the needs of our customers.

Some of the most commonly used functions within the SMART System include basic activity entry, maintenance reporting, Ambassador walk paths, incident reporting, persons of interest interaction, activity reporting by property/business/parcel, and so much more. This tool allows managers to account for the areas covered at any time in the downtown region. It tells a real-time story of what is happening in the districts with data, and it’s highly customizable to fit the landscape and needs of any downtown.

“Without the SMART System, we would not have an account of our work. The SMART System helps us create the story,” Anna Schmoll answered when asked why she believed it beneficial to management. She also explained how the SMART System helps with coaching and improves activities throughout the day because there is always room to grow.

Not only do supervisors and managers at Block by Block find the system useful, but many Ambassadors appreciate the capability to track their efforts. “It lets us know what work is being done and helps us collaborate better with other team members. I am able to keep track of any escorts or interactions I make or log anything that needs work,” Crystal Krajewski, a Safety Ambassador, shared.

Lastly, the Smart System is a reporting and accountability tool for clients. They can utilize it to best suit their needs, from being very involved to not. They can access the system daily or request reports from the Block by Block operational office. Tracking this information allows clients to make effective strategic decisions backed by data.

Throughout 2022, the Ambassadors provided various services to the residents, removed and cleared many unwanted materials from public spaces, and so much more. Watch the video below to see the exact stats assembled through the SMART System. Imagine how different Downtown Minneapolis would be if it were not for the services provided!

The Faces Behind a Welcoming Downtown Experience

The Different Types of Ambassadors and The Impact They Create

Are you aware of all the moving pieces that make Downtown Minneapolis clean and friendly?

The Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District (MDID) works with Block by Block to deliver hospitality services to the streets of downtown. The incredible people behind the daily grind are the MDID Ambassadors. They are responsible for specific initiatives with some overlap in their tasks. Let’s break down the various functions to highlight the impact the Ambassadors make in Downtown Minneapolis. 

SAFETY
Safety Ambassador’s role includes escorting citizens, helping them locate their destination, assisting them in finding their parked vehicle, distributing maps and other MDID information, checking in with local businesses, and providing support to various MDID pop-ups. In addition to their hospitality work, these Ambassadors also aid in keeping the city clean and act as the eyes and ears for others. Because they are actively walking the streets and skyways, they communicate with Ambassadors outside their task force if further assistance is required.They can request help for larger projects like graffiti removal or connect citizens in need with the Livability Ambassadors.

CLEANING
The Cleaning Ambassadors’ main priority is to keep the streets clean and welcoming while creating a friendly atmosphere. They’re the force behind the polished feel of Downtown Minneapolis. These Ambassadors work on freeing the walkways of trash, clearing undesired substances, removing unauthorized posters and stickers, wiping down public surfaces, and emptying the recycling bins and trash cans. 

SPECIAL PROJECTS
Even though the Cleaning Ambassadors focus the majority of their efforts on cleaning up, some tasks are left explicitly to the Special Projects Ambassadors. This task force works on any project specially requested by MDID or any businesses in the downtown districts. The projects include removing graffiti from buildings and other surfaces or polishing public areas to prepare them for the upcoming season.

LIVABILITY
Livability Ambassadors are a unique extension to the rest of the team. They act as a connection between individuals in need and resources provided by Hennepin County.  The Livability Ambassadors patrol the streets to detect individuals needing assistance, perform wellness checks and connect them with shelters, social workers, and treatment centers. They hand out snacks and water throughout the year, and during the winter months, they distribute socks, gloves, and hand warmers.

The different teams of Ambassadors offer various services and hospitality solutions downtown. This breakdown of responsibilities has successfully functioned in Minneapolis for over 13 years. Block by Block can tailor the Ambassador positions to fit the landscape of your downtown to ensure you receive the necessary services in your unique urban environment!

Hot or Cold, The MDID Ambassadors Continue Onward

Insider Look: The Work MDID Ambassadors Accomplish in the Winter

It is this time of the year again when the sun goes down early and the city glimmers in golden lights. The holiday season enters Downtown Minneapolis and brings holiday cheer and colder weather. The MDID Ambassadors walk the streets with a smile, assisting visitors in the city. Even when the temperature in Minneapolis drops below zero degrees Fahrenheit, Ambassadors are still showing up to work.

The cold temperatures introduce new challenges to the downtown streets. The sidewalks glaze over with ice, the roads hide beneath the snow, and the freezing winds drift between the buildings. These challenges can yield a not-so-pleasant experience in Downtown Minneapolis, but that is why our Ambassadors are there to help!

Beyond their daily efforts in the winter, the Ambassadors are also on the lookout for slippery and icy surfaces. They cover those areas with sand to ensure the safety of the citizens. In addition, they occasionally remove snow from corners if other businesses or the city hasn’t tended to them.

One of the more notable jobs the Ambassadors provide in cold temperatures is motorist assists. With consent from the owner, Ambassadors can jumpstart the vehicle or shovel it out of snow. This comes in handy due to the severity of the weather experienced in Minneapolis. In addition, our Safety Ambassadors continue to provide hospitality services to people looking to avoid the elements and get to their destination quickly.

Lastly, the Livability team works extra hard during the winter months to help individuals caught in a difficult time. They conduct safety checks on people who spend prolonged periods outside to ensure they aren’t suffering from hypothermia or dehydration. The Livability team will also hand out emergency kits that contain heat-reflective blankets and other winter resources like gloves and hand warmers.

More Than Clean: Building a Workforce from Camden Residents

As Streets Are Beautified, Residents Hone Job Skills, Plan for Future

Mayor London Breed Announces Expansion of Ambassadors and Public Safety Support

Plan includes increase in street ambassadors throughout Downtown and neighborhoods, additional attendant presence in transit stations, and civilian police personnel to free up Police Officers

Origially posted by sf.gov

San Francisco, CA – Today Mayor London N. Breed joined members of the Board of Supervisors and City officials to announce an expansion of community ambassadors and civilian police department personnel to help improve public safety in San Francisco.

In total, the expansion will add up to 150 new ambassadors and attendants, which are expected to be a mix of Mid-Market/Tenderloin Safety Ambassadors, orange jacketed SF Welcome Ambassadors, BART service attendants, and SFPD Community Ambassadors, which are retired police officers that serve in a supportive role to offer an added layer of safety. The new Ambassador and attendant deployment will expand coverage in and around the Downtown area, including at BART and Muni Metro Stations and city operated parking garages, as well as in city neighborhoods, including the Mission.

As part of Mayor Breed’s plans to ramp up public safety efforts to aid the City’s economic recovery, ambassadors have already been deployed in the Mid-Market and Tenderloin, Downtown and tourist areas. Currently, the City has allocated funding for over 250 ambassadors.

The expansion will phase in as hiring and deployment allows, with the first ambassadors and transit station attendants expected to be deployed within the next six weeks.

“We are working every day to improve safety in this City,” said Mayor London Breed. “San Francisco has a significant police staffing shortage, so we need to be more creative in ways that deliver a positive and welcoming experience on our street and while also ensuring our sworn officers can do their jobs. By deploying more ambassadors and hiring more staff who can do support work for our officers out in the field, we can better respond to residents, workers, and visitors who want our city to be cleaner and safer.”

In addition to the expansion of ambassadors and attendants, the Mayor’s Plan calls for a significant expansion of SFPD Police Service Aides (PSAs), which are civilian positions that provide supportive duties to police officers, but do not hold peace officer powers such as carrying a firearm. PSAs allow sworn officers to focus on responding to calls for services, investigating crimes, and conducting community policing efforts like walking foot beats.

“The SFPD is committed to public safety. Our public safety commitment goes beyond enforcing laws and making arrests. It also means creative solutions that most effectively and efficiently reduce community harms while engaging with, and building relationships with, our diverse communities,” said Police Chief Bill Scott. “The ambassador program is a great example of how we have taken community input and collaborated with Mayor Breed to implement innovative, non-traditional policing solutions and strategies to enhance the safety of San Francisco and reduce community harms. While ambassadors are not meant to replace sworn police officers, they act as a force multiplier to enhance the safety, effectiveness, and efficiency of the sworn police resources we do have.”

The increased presence at BART and Muni Metro stations is a part of a long partnership between the City, SFMTA and BART, which includes the commitment in providing the safest ridership experience as riders make key transfers between the two system’s stations.

BART has a successful model of contracting with restroom and elevator attendants to provide a welcoming environment for transit riders. BART began using elevator attendants in 2018 and restroom attendants earlier this year, with data showcasing the effectiveness of staff presence in keeping areas clean and free of unwanted behavior. This plan funds additional attendants for downtown San Francisco transit stations to provide a presence during all operating hours.

“These extra attendants will help welcome families, workers, tourists, and all types of riders as they arrive downtown,” said BART General Manager Bob Powers.“Having a dedicated attendant to welcome riders and chat with families while they wait for a train will boost our visible presence and enhance our team approach to connecting people in need with public services. More attendants will allow BART safety staff such as our police officers, Transit Ambassadors, and Crisis Intervention Specialist to focus on their work walking trains and stations responding to calls for service and the needs of vulnerable populations.”

“Like our regional transit partners and city agencies, safety is also our top priority and we look forward to this bold expansion of more community ambassadors and public safety presence deployed at some of the city’s most busy and visited areas,” said Jeffrey Tumlin, Director of Transportation. “This new expansion will enhance the public safety for all San Franciscans and visitors to feel safer while walking on our city’s streets, parking at our garages and traveling through the various shared Muni and BART transit platforms and stations.”

The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management will plan and coordinate activities and deployments of ambassadors. Deployments are expected to be dynamic based on need, pedestrian traffic, and community feedback. Ambassadors are part of a citywide network of resources focused on connecting people to services and promoting healthy street conditions.

“Community ambassadors have demonstrated that they are helpful in keeping streets welcoming and accessible,” said Mary Ellen Carroll, Executive Director, San Francisco Department of Emergency Management. “San Francisco intends to utilize ambassadors in concert with public safety and street crisis resources to promote healthy and safe streets for all who live, work or visit our City.”

“We are excited to expand the ambassador program – vital in providing a visible presence and point of contact for people and visitors navigating our downtown and core, and in supporting our employees as they return to the office,” said Kate Sofis, Executive Director of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development. “As San Francisco’s shopping and dining scene picks up and with the many public activations coming online, we want people to have a warm and welcoming experience wherever they go in our beautiful city.”

These initiatives will help to benefit San Francisco’s economic recovery both by supporting Downtown and tourist areas, as well as the City’s neighborhood corridors.

“Visitors from around the country and the world are flocking to San Francisco’s amazing destinations, and this is yet another step the City is taking to welcome visitors to an enhanced experience in this incredible City,” said District 3 Supervisor Aaron Peskin,who represents the neighborhoods of Chinatown, North Beach, Fisherman’s Wharf and Downtown.

“District 6 residents have been demanding for more safety protocols and I applaud Mayor Breed’s decision to increase the presence of community and safety ambassadors during this unprecedented time of staffing shortages,” said District 6 Supervisor Matt Dorsey. “By bringing on these new ambassadors, the City’s police officers will be able to better respond to crimes and our high-traffic and frequently visited locations will have an added layer of public safety. I look forward to seeing the positive change these workers will bring to our communities and hope we can continue to hire more so that all of San Francisco’s neighborhoods can benefit.”

“San Francisco is experiencing a dire police staffing shortage at a time of increasing public concern about safety,” said District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman. “It will take years to build back the police department need, but in the meantime the Mayor and her team are to be commended for finding creative ways to get more officers out into the field and more eyes on the street.”

“Conditions in the Mission have been unacceptable for quite some time. We have been working to restore a healthy atmosphere in the neighborhood while working hard not to further punish people for being poor,” said District 9 Supervisor Hillary Ronen. “Striking this right balance isn’t always easy. I believe community ambassadors will help us accomplish both goals and am so excited we will shortly have dozens of ambassadors walking the streets to help people feel safe and restore some vibrancy to the neighborhood.”

“I support the investment in creative and innovative ways to keep communities safe and better served, such as the Community Ambassadors and Police Service Aides. They can provide merchants and the public the sense of safety and welcoming environment that will support community and economic activities that this season brings. Our neighborhood commercial corridors in District 7 need this kind of support as they recover from the last couple of years,” said District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar.

“Here in the heart of the city, Union Square, we understand that there are many pieces of the puzzle when it comes to ensuring a successful recovery, post COVID,” said Marisa Rodriguez, Executive Director of the Union Square Alliance. “The Mayor’s efforts to support the Tourism Ambassadors, Police Ambassadors, and Urban Alchemy serve San Francisco’s collective goal to create a healthy and safe downtown for everyone to enjoy, which in turn will allow our entire city to thrive for years to come.  We are better when we work together.”

City of West Hollywood Announces Block by Block Security Ambassadors Program Kiosks

Originally posted by the City of Hollywood

The City of West Hollywood is pleased to announce staffed kiosks throughout the City to support the recent expansion of its Block by Block program. In recent weeks, the City launched three kiosks and it has recently added two more kiosk locations. Two additional locations are scheduled to be implemented within the next 30 days, which will bring the total number of kiosks citywide to seven. Concurrently, the Block by Block program has added personnel; there are now approximately 85 Security Ambassadors.

Commercial district kiosks function daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; the kiosk at West Hollywood Park is staffed daily from 8 a.m. to 12 a.m.; and the Plummer Park kiosk is staffed daily from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. The aim of the kiosks is to expand the City’s supplemental safety services, as well as to provide an extra level of hospitality to businesses, community members, and visitors.

Kiosk locations are as follows in the City’s commercial districts:

(1)  N. La Brea and Santa Monica Boulevard/The Gateway

(2)  Melrose Avenue at Westmount Drive/Design District (In-Progress)

(3)  Santa Monica Boulevard at N. Robertson Boulevard/Rainbow District

(4)  Santa Monica Boulevard at Westmount Drive/Rainbow District

(5)  Sunset Boulevard at Sunset Plaza Drive/Sunset Strip (In-Progress)

In the City’s main public parks, kiosk locations are:

(6)  West Hollywood Park

(7)  Plummer Park

The City of West Hollywood’s rollout of staffed kiosks for its Block by Block Security Ambassadors program is focused on safety as well as hospitality in West Hollywood with specific emphasis on supporting a more robust and accessible presence where people shop, walk, and enjoy recreation. Security Ambassadors at kiosks will be able to assist community members and visitors and, in emergencies, can work in partnership with law enforcement personnel at the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station. Security Ambassadors will work seamlessly, as well, to:

• Maintain uniformed foot and bicycle patrols throughout all City neighborhoods, including a new program expansion into residential neighborhoods;
• Provide in-person responses 24/7 to non-violent calls for service — support is always available by phone or text at (323) 821-8604;
• Conduct safety escorts for residents, businesses, and visitors; and
• Offer helpful guidance to community members and visitors about City information, directions, parking, and more.

During the next several weeks, the City of West Hollywood will be sharing additional information about the Block by Block Security Ambassadors program including a new toll-free number and public Security Ambassadors program location. Community members are encouraged to get to know the City’s Block by Block Security Ambassadors, who will be in attendance at the upcoming Kids Fair on Saturday, October 29, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at West Hollywood Park, located at 647 N. San Vicente Boulevard, as well as at other upcoming events.

About | Block by Block Security Ambassadors Program – The City of West Hollywood partners with Block by Block on its Security Ambassadors program, which has a direct positive impact on safety and neighborhood livability. First established as a City program in 2013, West Hollywood Block by Block Security Ambassadors provide a highly visible uniformed presence at the street level and leverage the effectiveness of local law enforcement by working in collaboration with personnel from the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station. In addition to supplemental safety services, Block by Block Security Ambassadors get to know West Hollywood’s neighborhoods and assist in providing an extra level of hospitality to businesses, residents, and visitors and help to address and respond to quality-of-life concerns in the community. Security Ambassadors receive trainings on topics such as active shooters, cultural diversity and sensitivity, administration of Narcan to treat narcotic overdose, mental health first aid, sexual harassment, emergency/disaster preparedness, and more. The Block by Block Security Ambassador Hotline provides access to free, 24/7 support by phone or text at (323) 821-8604; a new toll-free number will be introduced in the coming weeks. For additional information, please visit www.weho.org/bbb.

City of West Hollywood Expands 30 Additional Block by Block Security Ambassadors

Originally posted by Weho Times

At a regular West Hollywood City Council meeting on Monday, September 19, 2022, the city council unanimously approved a Block by Block Security Ambassadors program update expanding its Block by Block program with 30 additional Security Ambassadors. The Block by Block program has hired and trained 20 new Security Ambassadors, one Team Lead, and one Operations Supervisor. It is on-track to be fully staffed by October 1, 2022, with a total of approximately 85 Security Ambassadors.

The approved motion follows City Council approval on Monday, June 27, 2022, of the City’s FY 2022-23 & 2023-24 two-year operating budget and capital work plan, which directed an increase to the number of Block by Block Security Ambassadors by 30 positions. Additional direction regarding the expansion was provided by the City Council on Monday, August 1, 2022 when it approved the related amendment to the Block by Block agreement for services.

“The City’s Block by Block Security Ambassadors program will continue to provide bicycle and foot patrols throughout the City’s commercial districts,” said City of West Hollywood City Manager David Wilson. “The program is adding dedicated foot patrols in residential neighborhoods citywide and is staffing new kiosks in selected locations. Block by Block Security Ambassadors work in close alignment with Deputies from our Sheriff’s Station, as well as our City’s Code Enforcement and Homeless Initiative teams, among others. The collaboration positively impacts quality of life in West Hollywood.”

Block by Block Security Ambassadors work in collaboration with the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station to provide supplemental safety services and they get to know West Hollywood’s neighborhoods to assist in providing an extra level of hospitality to businesses, residents, and visitors. Expansion of the program aims to provide an additional public presence to proactively reduce crime.

Block by Block Security Ambassadors are highly focused on safety and hospitality in West Hollywood with specific emphasis on:

· Maintaining uniformed foot and bicycle patrols throughout the City’s business districts and residential neighborhoods;

· Providing in-person responses 24/7 to non-violent calls for service;

· Conducting safety escorts for residents, businesses, and visitors; and

· Offering helpful guidance to community members and visitors about City information, directions, parking, and more.

In consultation with the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station, the City of West Hollywood will implement four new Block by Block Security Ambassador kiosks by October 1, 2022, at or near the following intersections: (1) Santa Monica Boulevard at N. Robertson Boulevard; (2) Santa Monica Boulevard at Westmount Drive; (3) Sunset Boulevard and Sunset Plaza Drive; and (4) Melrose Avenue and Westmount Drive.

During the next several weeks, the City will be sharing additional information about the Block by Block Security Ambassadors program with outreach to residents and businesses.

About | Block by Block Security Ambassadors Program – The City of West Hollywood partners with Block by Block on its Security Ambassadors program, which has a direct positive impact on safety and neighborhood livability.

First established as a City program in 2013, West Hollywood Block by Block Security Ambassadors provide a highly visible uniformed presence at the street level and leverage the effectiveness of local law enforcement by working in collaboration with personnel from the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station.

In addition to supplemental safety services, Block by Block Security Ambassadors get to know West Hollywood’s neighborhoods and assist in providing an extra level of hospitality to businesses, residents, and visitors and help to address and respond to quality of life concerns in the community.

Security Ambassadors receive trainings on topics such as active shooters, cultural diversity and sensitivity, administration of Narcan to treat narcotic overdose, mental health first aid, sexual harassment, emergency/disaster preparedness, and more.

The Block by Block Security Ambassador Hotline provides access to free, 24/7 support by phone or text at (323) 821-8604; a new toll-free number will be introduced in the coming weeks. For additional information, please visit www.weho.org/bbb.

About | Sheriff’s, Fire, Code, and Emergencies – The City of West Hollywood contracts with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for law enforcement and the Los Angeles County Fire Department for fire protection. The City’s Neighborhood & Business Safety Division oversees code enforcement.

For additional information, please visit www.weho.org/publicsafety. For anyone with public safety concerns, please reach out to the Sheriff’s Station 24/7 at (310) 855-8850. In an emergency, always call 911.

Downtown Roanoke ambassador program kicks off

The goal is to create a cleaner, safer, more welcoming downtown

ROANOKE, Va. – Downtown Roanoke launched a new initiative Thursday to promote a cleaner and safer downtown – and it’s already in full swing.

Ambassadors could be found downtown today cleaning off graffiti, picking up trash, and helping patrons.

The ambassadors are broken into three teams, each with a different focus: a clean team to remove litter and debris, a hospitality team to answer questions and welcome visitors, and an outreach team that will address quality of life issues and check on those in need.

The hope is to make downtown a more welcoming location.

“Having the very visible, they’re in brightly colored uniforms, very visible presence down here six days a week working hard is going to be a real benefit,” Jaime Clark, VP of Marketing for Downtown Roanoke said. “A clean, safe and welcoming downtown is really the cornerstone of a great community, so we’re excited to see that be a regular focus down here.”

Original story and video from WSLS Roanoke.

Service with a smile: Meet the people keeping downtown safe and beautiful

When Dominque Wilson saw a business owner shoveling snow in front of her storefront, he immediately offered to help. While at first she demurred, Wilson insisted, telling her, “This is our job.” 

Wilson is one of 13 Downtown Ambassadors through the Downtown Tulsa Partnership, a local nonprofit on a mission to champion a prosperous, vibrant and inclusive downtown Tulsa. The Ambassador program specifically focuses on providing hospitable services like giving directions, serving as safety escorts and being an intermediary between unsheltered Tulsans and downtown businesses. In the last year, ambassadors have interacted with more than 5,000 people.

Ambassadors also provide trash and graffiti removal, pressure washing of sidewalks and general beautification projects.

“We do the work that honestly a lot of people don’t want to do,” says Leola Maxey, Ambassador team operations manager. “I’m so proud of the dedication (the ambassadors) show when they come ready and willing to work, no matter the weather.”

Since the Ambassador program first launched July 1, 2021, the team has removed more than 7,400 graffiti tags and stickers and picked up more than 300,000 pounds of trash from sidewalks, streets and alleyways — the equivalent weight of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner. They also provided the critical service of removing 1,200 potentially biohazardous materials from downtown rights of way, in addition to various other hospitality services. 

“There’s a lot for us to celebrate in our first year, but the work is ongoing,” says Brian Kurtz, president and CEO of the Downtown Tulsa Partnership. “What we do with our brand means nothing without the visibility and hospitality of this team.”

For more information about the ambassadors or to request assistance, call 918-202-4093 or visit downtowntulsa.com.

Originally posted by TulsaPeople.

Vista ambassadors patrol for homeless, litter, graffiti

BY GARY WARTH

VISTA —  In the latest local response to how cities respond to homeless populations in their communities, Vista has launched a Clean and Safe program to patrol and respond to disturbances in its historic downtown and business district while also keeping the neighborhood tidy.Former Marine Capt. Walter Rekoski and operations manager for the team set out on a patrol with fellow team member and former security guard Arthur Schwab on a recent Wednesday, hitting the streets to look for litter and graffiti.

It didn’t take long for Schwab to spot a discarded foam cup on the sidewalk along Eucalyptus Avenue. Slipping on blue rubber gloves, he picked it up, tossed it in a nearby trash can and logged it on a phone app.

Up the road, he spotted graffiti on a couple of poles outside Sonic Drive-In, which he wiped away after spraying the poles with the solvent Graf Away.

“It’s like it never existed,” Schwab said, admiring his work.

The two are part of the city’s new Clean and Safe program, launched last month to pick up litter, remove graffiti and occasionally deal with homeless people causing disturbances.

In about a month, Rekoski said the teams have removed 400 pounds of litter from the street and helped remove 400 pieces of graffiti, sometimes doing it themselves and other times alerting city crews of graffiti on sidewalks, or business owners if the tags are on private property.

Two teams of two work overlapping shifts 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays, and Rekoski said they are called to respond to an issue with a homeless person on almost every shift.

Over the last decade, we’ve helped Kentucky add nearly 100,000 new jobs and $31 billion in new investments.

The city also has homeless outreach workers, funds shelter beds in neighboring cities and has a strategic plan to address homelessness. The Clean and Safe teams’ role is to quickly respond to and quell disturbances, which often are resolved by asking the homeless person to move along.

“Sometimes just our presence is enough,” Schwab said. “I’ll roll up on my bike and they’ll leave. They think we’re cops, but we’re not.”

In San Diego, the Hillcrest Business Association has contracted with a security team since 2016 to respond to calls of homeless people causing disruptions in local businesses. In Vista, the city has contracted with the national company Block by Block, which in California has teams in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Livermore and Chico. The Vista team is Block by Block’s first presence in San Diego County.

Rekoski said the teams, known as ambassadors rather than security guards, have responded to about 50 calls about disturbances in their first month.

“If there’s a homeless person around, we’ll go talk to them in a calm matter,” he said. “If it gets heated, we’ll call the sheriffs.”

Their area covers Vista Village Drive between Valencia Drive and Civic Center Drive, Santa Fe Avenue from Vista Village Drive to Civic Center Drive, and the area that includes Main Street, East Broadway, the Wave Waterpark and Lowe’s.

Businesses in the area have come to know them and are calling more often, Rekoski said. Calls may be about litter, graffiti or a homeless person causing a disturbance, but he said they are not called solely because a homeless person is seen on the street.

Schwab said if they find someone lying on a sidewalk, however, he will suggest they go to a local city park where they might be more comfortable.

“Yesterday I was doing a patrol, and a guy was lying on the ground on South Santa Fe,” he said. “I asked, ‘Are you OK?’ He asked for money then got up and left.”

Vista City Council members allocated $460,000 to fund the two-year, four-person pilot program in August 2021 with money from $26 million received from the Coronavirus State & Local Fiscal Recovery Funds.

A city staff member at the August meeting described the program as similar to ones in Little Italy and downtown San Diego, where ambassadors help direct people to restaurants or parking while helping keep the area clean.

Councilmember Corinna Contreras noted that, while not explicitly stated, the summary of the program implied that it also is about homelessness.

Her perception was right. During their Wednesday shift, several people at local businesses praised the new two specifically for how they have handled issues with people they described as unruly and homeless.

Vista Clean and Safe ambassadors Walter Rekoski Arthur Schwab patrol Main Street.

(Don Boomer/For The San Diego Union-Tribune)

“The other day we had one guy who was causing a ruckus,” said Danoosh Pourbafrana, assistant manager at Sonic Drive-In. “He was throwing things on the patio. Arthur and someone else came over. They ended up having to call the police. It’s obviously not a good thing, but this is supposed to be a family environment. You can’t really have that around here.”

Pourbafrana said the man was talking to himself and appeared to be having a psychotic episode. After the ambassadors arrived, sheriff’s deputies were called and took the man away.

The ambassadors are not trained social workers, but Schwab said they sometimes hand out cards with phone numbers to crisis lines to people they meet on the street.

“Some of them have mental issues, they’ve been out here so long,” he said.

The encounters illustrate a reality much of San Diego and other parts of the country experience, as people with untreated mental health issues are left homeless on the street, some refusing treatment and some never offered the help they need.

Shops and restaurants deal with another reality, as people having psychotic episodes or on drugs sometimes disrupt their businesses.

Todd Johnson, manager of Barrel & Stave Pour House, said he has called the ambassadors a couple of times.

“We just had some homeless that were a little vocal, a little disruptive to our guests,” he said.

Down the street, Natalie Trevino said she also has called the ambassadors to respond to disturbances at her resale shop Twice on Main Street.

“I’ve been here 10 years, and there always has been a need for a program like this,” she said. “There’s just a lot of transient riffraff, and they do kind of gravitate to a downtown environment.”

Trevino said the ambassadors have responded to calls within a few minutes. In the past, she would call the sheriff’s non-emergency number, and a deputy sometimes would arrive 20 minutes or an hour later.

“Obviously they have a lot bigger things going on,” she said, adding that sometimes she would call on men working in neighboring businesses for immediate help.

Christine Alvarado said she also has called the ambassadors for disturbances at her boutique Moonry Collective.

“We definitely feel safer having the ability to contact them at a moment’s notice,” she said. “I have a couple of employees who work the front desk, and just knowing that they have the ability to call them if I’m not here also makes me feel so much better. Because there can be some riffraff in the downtown area, and I want my employees to feel safe.”

Alvarado said she would like the ambassadors to patrol every day of the week, and has seen less graffiti and trash in the neighborhood over the past month.

602,000 lbs. of waste removed from Broadway trashcans

By: Nickelle Smith, WKRN

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — When the honky tonks close down on Broadway, another round of work ramps up.

“These guys come down here with a purpose, a sense of urgency,” said Nashville Downtown Partnership Operations Supervisor Joshua Hillen. “When we come in, we’re cleaning up the party from the night before.”

The Downtown Nashville Partnership’s Clean and Safe team starts with pressure washing alleyways and block faces at around 3 a.m. So far this year, the team has used 115,000 gallons of water to pressure wash 720 alleyways and 994 block faces.

“We blitz Broadway, make sure all the curb lines, all the cigarette butts. We want everybody to come down here, have fun, and then we’re going to come in [and] we’re going to clean everything up,” Hillen said.

Then the rest of the team starts working at 6:30 a.m.

“If for one day we weren’t here, it would be a complete mess,” Hillen said, explaining their job serves everyone on Broadway. “Not just work, not just visitors, but people who live here as well.”

He continued, “We’re getting up big trash. We’re also continuing efforts on the pressure washing, looking for graffiti. Graffiti removal is a big thing. We always want to make sure that we’re coming down here, putting eyes on it, remove it, get it out, so that by the time all the business owners get here it’s already gone.”

To date, the team has removed 1,680 graffiti tags from downtown businesses and public spaces. They’ve also removed over 602,000 pounds of garbage from downtown trashcans.

The safety aspect of their duties is vital, with ambassadors logging 7,000 miles on Segways looking for challenging situations to help visitors.

“If you need directions anywhere, we’re going to help out with that,” said Hillen. “We want to make sure, not only everybody else is safe down here, but also I want to keep my guys safe. So, we got to keep our head on a swivel.”

The Nashville Downtown Partnership deploys most of their services in the footprint of the central business improvement district. Their clean and safe services are funded through annual assessments on privately owned properties within the footprint.

“These guys are on foot. We’ve got heavy machinery down here,” said Hillen. “They’re out here bustin’ their humps every single day – seven days a week.”

After working for the Nashville Downtown Partnership for several years, Hillen explained that he appreciates their role in more ways than one.

“It’s given me the opportunity to get my life back. I got a beautiful wife, just bought a house, and if it wasn’t for the partnership, I wouldn’t be where I’m at today,” he said.

https://www.wkrn.com/news/broadway-nashville/602000-lbs-of-waste-removed-from-broadway-trashcans/ 

‘The Swiss Army knife’: Boulder downtown ambassadors one of city initiatives showing success

By DEBORAH SWEARINGEN | Boulder Daily Camera

While walking through Boulder’s Central Park late Friday morning, Mario Chavez spoke with a person who requested that he check on a woman across the park.

She was spread out on a blanket, eyes closed, breathing slowly — but otherwise unresponsive.

Chavez walked over and spoke to her, but she didn’t open her eyes or answer him. He tried to wake her up. When she didn’t budge after several attempts, Chavez called for medical assistance. It was a hot day, he said, and the person was lying directly in the sun with a cold beer that indicated she’d been drinking.

In these instances, it’s better to play it safe than to end up sorry, Chavez noted.

“It’s not our job to judge,” he said. “It’s just our job to help.”

Welfare checks are one of many duties of a downtown Boulder ambassador, a relatively new program of which Chavez is part that was created through a collaboration between the city and the Downtown Boulder Partnership.

When the new downtown ambassadors handle a situation like the one Friday morning, they create an incident report. This data goes to the city and is used, at least in part, to demonstrate how often the ambassadors were able to address a situation without making a call to the police.

The ambassadors program is one of several initiatives on which the Boulder City Council in April 2021 agreed to spend about $3 million over an 18-month period. Others include an urban park ranger program, a five-person internal team to clear encampments and a dedicated team within the Boulder Police Department for camping ban enforcement.

However, given newly established metrics and a list of goals the city acknowledges are aspirational, the first year or so of the pilot program has shown varied success.

According to data presented to the City Council on Thursday, in the time since the Council approved the various measures intended to help with enforcement of its urban camping ban, the city reports clearing 486 camping sites — 53 of which had propane tanks or fire rings — and removing 112 tons of debris and 5,100 needles.

But according to Boulder’s Director of Utilities Joe Taddeucci, the work is about more than the numbers. The efforts are not intended to end homelessness but instead to place a focus on safety, he added.

“It’s really about making the spaces safe for everyone, including the people who are attempting to camp in them,” he said.

Removing fire rings, propane tanks and needles accomplishes that, and it aligns with what the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness has determined to be best, Taddeucci said Thursday.

The long-term goals that have been identified for the pilot program include:

• No unsanctioned camping in public spaces;
• Individuals experiencing homelessness are connected to Coordinated Entry services;
• Access to public space and public infrastructure is not impeded;
• Reduction in crime and disorder in designated areas of emphasis;
• Visitors have access to knowledgeable resources or city services;
• Maintenance crews are able to safely access critical infrastructure in public spaces;
• Waterways are free of contamination; and
• Users of public space report feeling safe and welcome.

Regarding the data, Taddeucci noted that it’s a work in progress and that establishing metrics has been a significant undertaking. It’s not possible to draw absolute conclusions yet, he said. “At this point, we don’t know if it’s a seasonal thing … or whether we’ll see after a period of time that it’s a trend that’s continuing and concerning,” Taddeucci said.

In early 2022, for example, there was a brief decline in the number of encampment reports, but the numbers have risen significantly in April and May. In April, the number of reports neared 350 with that number jumping to closer to 400 in May.

Additionally, more unique individuals are reporting encampments to the city, which staff acknowledge could have more correlation with the increased communication to the public about where to report encampments than the actual number of encampments.

Ultimately, the initial findings left some City Council members wondering about the effectiveness of the various initiatives.

“My concern is really that despite picking up so much trash and doing so many cleanups, we’re kind of just trying to plug holes in a dam that seems to have more cracks every day,” Councilmember Nicole Speer said in Thursday’s meeting. “Rather than just clean up, I would really love for us to think about a strategy of harm reduction.”

“It really does not look to me like the data is favorable at this point,” Mayor Pro Tem Rachel Friend added.

Councilmember Matt Benjamin also questioned at what point the Council would have a chance to consider whether the pilot program has been effective and to determine what initiatives should continue.

To that point, City Manager Nuria Rivera-Vandermyde acknowledged that many of the initiatives were delayed for various reasons. The urban park rangers just began work, and the Police Department has hired only half of the officers the City Council approved last year.

Because of this, the city is likely to continue the program past the initial 18-month mark, which is approaching in October.

The ambassadors are one area the city has reported is successful, and Boulder is considering continuing the program indefinitely with continued support from the Downtown Boulder Partnership-managed Business District.

It got off the ground quickly and remains relatively well-staffed. There are currently 16 ambassadors, according to Operations Manager Brandon Lowe, though he said they could use more.

Since the pilot began, the team has performed more than 50,000 conversations with visitors, 10,000 local business check-ins and almost 3,000 welfare checks. They have picked up almost 8,000 bags of trash and cleaned up 4,500 instances of graffiti as well as biohazard waste from more than 100 humans and animals, the report notes.

Minutes before calling for medical assistance in Central Park, Chavez picked up trash from a downtown sidewalk.

Before that, he and coworker Bob Borchardt stopped into Active 88 Shoes as part of the regular business checks the ambassadors conduct.

The work of the downtown ambassadors is varied. Some days they’re helping set up for downtown events or providing maps and answering questions for visitors. Other days, they’re building relationships with Boulder’s unhoused residents and local downtown business owners.

“You are the Swiss Army knife of the downtown area,” Chavez said of the job. “You do everything.”

For Chavez and Borchardt, the work is personal, and it could be the reason they enjoy it and feel well-equipped to do it.

Borchardt is in recovery and was living on the streets of Denver some four years ago, and that certainly impacts his perspective.

“I know there is a way out,” he said.

When determining which camps to clear, the city teams go through a prioritization process. It’s not random, Taddeucci confirmed.

The cleanup schedule is determined by staff capacity and factors such as the life/safety risk; the proximity to schools, parks with playgrounds or public residences; the impact on neighborhoods; the size of the camp and whether there have been reports of crime or threats of violence tied to it.

To continue this work, Taddeucci said the city will bring forward a proposal during the budgeting process to expand the cleanup team by an additional four members.

In terms of policing, the Boulder Police Department — which has hired three of the six officers the Council supported last year — reports having issued 414 camping tickets between September 2021 and Aug. 1.

Further, according to its research, the department determined that there are concentrations of crime around the encampments.

Mayor Pro Tem Friend asked whether the city has any controls for its crime data, given that “if you’re policing something more, you’re going to find more crime,” Friend said.

Daniel Reinhard, with the Boulder Police Department, said he used encampments reported by residents as the baseline. These encampments are not immediately conveyed to the police department but to the public reclamation team. Because officers are at least initially unaware of the situation, it removes some of the potential bias, he added.

In the coming months, Boulder City Council will get its annual homelessness update and make some big decisions about its budget.

From Chavez’s perspective, ideas like the downtown ambassadors are a good start.

“I actually feel like I’m part of the solution,” he said. “What are we going to do? The answer is us.”

DOWNTOWN K-TOWN CONNECT AMBASSADORS: WHAT DO THEY DO?

(L-R) Leanna, Narell, Clarissa, and Izzy (One not pictured), K-Town Connect Downtown Ambassadors, Knoxville, June 2022

Orignal article published by Inside of Knoxville

Since the program was announced last April, the ambassadors employed in the K-Town Connect program have been daily working their way around downtown. You might spot them in their bright neon-green shirts. The program launched almost three months ago as a joint effort by Visit Knoxville, the City of Knoxville, Knox County, and the Downtown Knoxville Alliance, is a product of the Block by Block company, which provides services to 100 locations according to their website.

I’ve introduced myself to several of the ambassadors and I’d encourage you to do the same if you spot them. I’ve seen them engaging homeless people, picking up trash, and greeting visitors. I wanted to know a bit more about what they are doing and how the effort is going, so I had separate conversations with Kim Bumpas, President of Visit Knoxville, and Narell Haigler, the downtown coordinator for the group to get their perspectives.

Ms. Bumpas said the program is going well. She said she didn’t really know what to expect when the program launched and Visit Knoxville was asked to take on management. She said she has been pleasantly surprised. “Those that have been hired are very caring, extremely smart, trained in social services . . . the compassion that they show and the way they’ve been able to engage with the homeless population has been quite impressive.”

There are six ambassadors, including Mr. Haigler, who are out on the street daily, with at least some part of that group out seven days a week. Knoxville groups have purchased a number of hours for the year and there is flexibility within that number of hours, depending on special events, for example.

She said they have been able to learn more about downtown to share that information with visitors. She said a number of times when tourists enter the Visitor Center they have reported that they were directed there by the ambassadors. They also have connected to city services to report graffiti. She said they have been removing stickers that a group recently put up around downtown, saving time for city workers. And they have been forming beneficial relationships with the homeless downtown.

Area Covered by K-Town Connect

One incident stood out in her mind involving a tourist who crashed their bike and needed to be transported to the emergency room. The K-Town Connect person was the first on the scene and helped make that happen. In another situation a K-Town Connect person was able to sit with a homeless person who was irrational and bring them back enough to learn what services they needed and to connect them to those.

A main emphasis in the early stages of the program is to collect data. That data will be published by Visit Knoxville quarterly and will not only show what the ambassadors have done, but it will help identify the biggest problems or needs and where they might have the most impact.

The ambassadors work from 7:00 am to 3:00 pm each day and divide into zones that cover downtown and adjacent areas. She said it may expand beyond those parameters either with more hours, more workers, or more territory in the second year. They will know more about needs after the first contract year. She said the system was “never intended to operate twenty-four hours a day.” She made it clear as well that they are not law enforcement, but rather try to impact the downtown area in a range of other ways.

She also said they’ve had an impact on the interactions that Visit Knoxville has with the homeless population. She said they routinely enter the Visitor Center and now she said they are less often agitated and difficult. She said the tone has changed because someone in the building likely knows their name and knows a little about them. She said, “Maybe some of the people who we have incidents with act that way because they don’t feel seen and K-Town Connect is making them feel seen and maybe there is hope . . .”

For more detail about day-to-day operations, I spoke with Narell Haigler. Given that it was during the shift, he asked if I would walk along on his route so that he could give it the coverage it needed. We walked from the Visitor Center to the Bijou via Market Street and back through Krutch Park while we talked.

Narell is from Clinton and has always lived in East Tennessee. He was a program manager at Open Arms and he current serves in the Army Reserves. He was interested in serving other people in a new setting. He enjoys both the outreach and the welcoming portions of the job. “I love Knoxville and it has been a great journey.”

He said the public, from visitors, to the homeless population, and business owners have quickly embraced their role. He said they may give directions to the Dolly Parton mural, help a homeless person get services, and then be asked by a business owner to check a nearby alley. “It has been a challenge, but I feel we’ve been helpful.”

They begin the day with a shift briefing at 7:00 am to tell them what is happening in the district, from the Farmers’ Market to the U.S. Cycling Championships. They talk about who is likely to be downtown and they discuss outreach. He said they often know that a particular homeless person has an appointment that day and they are instructed in the briefing to remind that person when they see them.

He said they make a real effort to get to know the homeless people common to their assigned area. He said they try learn why they are homeless, which services they are connected to or might need, and then try to get them to that service. He said it takes time, but they are there everyday and can do that work. He noted at least one situation where they were able to connect a person to drug treatment.

He said they leave the briefing and walk their routes covering the different zones. They asked to keep moving and not to congregate so they can cover more ground. They pick up trash from the night before and rouse people they find sleeping in doorways, encouraging them to move along so businesses can open. He said they generally do so when asked, particularly since they have a relationship with the ambassadors. If they are not responsive, they request help.

They do the same thing throughout the day when they find people on the sidewalk. He said the ambassadors are kind and usually get a good response when they ask them to move along and offer any help they might need. He said they engage panhandlers and encourage them not to violate the various city ordinances regarding where and how they can ask for money. If it continues to be an issue they call law enforcement. Beyond that, he said it is up to the community to determine what is allowed.

Narell Haigler, Director of the K-Town Connect Downtown Ambassadors, Knoxville, June 2022

There are five areas covered, which they have termed Mission, Sub-Mission, Downtown, East of Hall of Fame, and World’s Fair Park. He said they do welfare checks, helping visitors, explaining how to access the Sunshpere, and so on. One person takes each zone and he says there is always trash and scooters to move off sidewalks. They do maintenance requests to the city. Mid-day they move toward the center as activity increases and hospitality and interacting with businesses becomes more of a focus. The direct people to restaurants and events.

He said hospitality services consume a majority of their time, though they will soon be more able to quantify that as they assemble statistics. They also do small things like open doors for visitors, watch for items that someone drops and getting it back to them, escorting groups from the convention center to Market Square, and more.

He encouraged downtown residents and others to introduce themselves and communicate any concerns. “If we don’t know, we can’t address it. The community has been supportive and I’m looking forward to seeing how the rest of the summer goes and how we might help.” They may be contacted through Visit Knoxville.

Keeping the District Beautiful

Jennifer Truesdale, CoMo Magazine

If you’ve ever walked around downtown COMO’s 50 blocks and admired how clean they are, there’s someone to thank for that — several people, in fact. Bill York and his crew of Block by Block (BBB) ambassadors put in the hard work of keeping The District as clean as possible, all year round, no matter the weather.

“I like what I do. When I’m cleaning, I know I’m making a difference in my downtown,” Bill, Block by Block operations manager, said.

Block by Block is a Louisville, Kentucky-based organization whose cleaning and safety services can be found in the downtown areas of more than 100 municipalities, including COMO, which so far is the only Missouri city to implement BBB services.

BBB offers a one-stop-shop for cities looking for a way to keep their downtown areas clean, attractive, and safe. They recruit for and fill the positions for street cleaners, called ambassadors, as well as provide training, uniforms, equipment, HR software, and more to make it as simple as possible for downtowns like COMO’s to “plug and play” BBB services into their community.

BBB came to The District in 2016 and is paid for by the Downtown CID.

“The District sought out BBB due to the amount of trash and debris that was on the sidewalks of downtown,” says Nickie Davis, executive director for The District. “Two of our top priorities are to keep our District clean and safe. BBB helps with both those things.”

Bill and his three ambassadors go out and do the largely thankless job few others wish to do. It’s not unusual for each ambassador to walk 8-12 miles a day as they clean up downtown.

“We remove litter and debris from sidewalks and curb lines, and remove graffiti from benches, bike racks and trash cans,” Bill says.

And the graffiti is a challenge: For BBB purposes, graffiti is not limited to your typical spray paint art; it’s basically anything that doesn’t belong where it is, and Bill says that in downtown COMO, stickers are a big culprit. Flyers for events and lost pets also count as graffiti, and Bill points out that there are designated bulletin boards downtown for these items. In the last 13 months, Bill and his crew have removed 18,000 pounds of litter and 942 pieces of graffiti from downtown. In April of this year alone, The District’s BBB team cleaned up 1,300 pounds of trash and 171 graffiti incidents.

“There’s more trash when MU is in session and when the weather is nice.”

The District’s BBB services installed cigarette butt recycling receptacles strapped to light poles in February 2016. Since then, BBB has recycled more than 917,000 cigarette butts through its partnership with TerraCycle, a global business that specializes in recycling hard-to-recycle items. Bill says in October of 2021, COMO’s BBB was a top-25 cigarette butt recycler for TerraCycle.

Despite these impressive numbers, cigarette butts are still among the top trash items the ambassadors pick up. Bill says he wishes people would use the recycling ash trays more, along with the regular trash cans.

Looking ahead, the BBB program may grow to include more street cleaning ambassadors as need dictates.

“We’re just going to keep doing what we’re doing,” Bill says. “There will probably always be a need; people still litter.”

If you see an ambassador cleaning downtown, be sure to say hello and thanks for their hard work.

The District, Downtown CID hired the first Block by Block ambassadors in October of 2015 and the impact they have made is incredible…

926 Directions Given

33 Escorts Provided

7,330 Instances of Graffiti Removed

119 Parking Meter Assistance Given

6,377 TerraCycle Ashtrays Emptied

181,080 Pounds of Trash Collected

1,528 Trash Cans Emptied

71,068 Weeds Removed

917,420 Cigarette Butts (Approx.)

Boulder’s ambassadors are keeping businesses happy — and modeling a compassionate, effective approach to homelessness

(Originally posted by Boulder Beat.)

It is a little before 11 a.m. on a Tuesday. BJ Zuromski crouches on the Pearl Street Mall, talking to one of his friends. The man, seated in a wheelchair, is having a bad day, struggling with sobriety and the challenges of living on the streets of Boulder. He tells Zuromski that he wants to die.

Nine hundred and thirty-seven days sober himself, Zuromski shares a bit of his story with the man he sees nearly every day. He urges the man to hang in there, and promises to check in later, after he finishes up work elsewhere on the mall.

Zuromski is one of Downtown Boulder’s blue-shirted ambassadors. The program — a partnership with national organization Block by Block, which works with 100-plus cities, business and arts districts across the U.S. — began last year as part of Boulder’s  $2.8 million plan to manage and remove unhoused people in the city; primarily in downtown, where there is often conflict with business owners, shoppers, residents and workers.

In a package of not-yet-successful initiatives, the ambassadors stand as a shining example of national best practices in the value of personal, non-police interactions with people experiencing homelessness. Business owners have sung their praises, and Downtown Boulder Partnership and the Department of Community Vitality will be asking for money in next year’s budget to continue the pilot.

“When the ambassadors start, I tell them the mission is to be the best part of someone’s day,” said Chip, CEO of Downtown Boulder Partnership. “Downtown works well when it has that social infrastructure, and it’s not just people coming and going, but it is a community.”

‘They really do care’

A polo-shirt-clad crew of 17 walk Boulder’s downtown and University Hill business districts through the summer; the team is smaller in the winter. They are responsible for all that is needed to keep the areas safe, clean and welcoming: picking up trash, removing graffiti, responding to business concerns and answering questions for the tourists. Chip calls them the “Swiss Army knife of downtown management.”

The feedback from businesses, visitors and members of the public has been good so far, Chip said. A formal survey is planned next month. Employees and owners visited by Boulder Beat gave glowing reviews of ambassadors they often know by name, who walk them to their cars at night, check in daily and respond quickly when called.

Their hospitality extends beyond their jobs; one ambassador, Denver, organized the others to bring flowers to one business owner on her birthday. Zuromski frequently purchases coffee or food for his friends experiencing homelessness who spend time on the mall; once, bought a walker to replace a broken one for a man with mobility challenges.

“They really do care,” said, Ellen Epstein, from family-owned Pearl Convenience (1640). “Someone stops in here every day. When someone new starts, they will come introduce them to us. They’ve become our friends.”

Most often, workers and business owners referenced the ambassadors work with people experiencing homelessness. Before the ambassadors, the only option for outside intervention was the police. Historic harm and distrust — on top of trauma — means situations often escalate into an arrest or mental health hold. A friendly request from a familiar ambassador can create better responses.

“People will comply, move along, ask for a bag so they can clean up after themselves,” Zuromski said. When someone is yelling or causing a disturbance, “we take people for a walk, ask them what’s going on,” said Brandon Lowe, operations manager. “Nine times out of 10, it’s someone having a bad day” and the gentle intervention helps.

It all comes down to relationship building, Chip said, which is “not something we invented. This is best practice.”

“Relationships build trust. A couple of guys this morning were by the Wells Fargo parking lot, take out a bowl and start smoking pot. I know who they are. I said, ‘Hey do you guys mind going back there?’ They’re like, ‘Oh yeah, kids are here. No problem, Chip.’ It wasn’t punitive for them. I’m not a cop going, ‘I’m gonna write you a ticket.’ It was like, ‘Hey, look around, you’re part of this, and your part would be cooler if you’re down there.’

“They’re still going to smoke pot down here, but they’re going to be a little more conscious about the part they’re playing.”

Adding outreach

Ambassadors still do call the cops on occasion; each ambassador has a story about a situation that was beyond their skillset. But they also share an understanding of why it is a tool to be used sparingly and a genuine concern for the wellbeing of people they think of as friends.

“The last thing we want them to think is we’re security or authority,” Zuromski said.

At a recent outreach event at the Boulder bandshell, unhoused residents reported both positive and negative interactions. They said the ambassadors were similar to the cops in one way: Some are nice and others hassle them. Ambassador team members gave similar feedback, noting that not every one of their peers shows Zuromski’s skill and sensitivity.

Still, the program has proved popular enough that Downtown Boulder Partnership is asking for enough money in the upcoming budget cycle to extend it past the 18-month pilot period (which ends roughly with the calendar year). So far, the city has spent $586,000 on the ambassadors, with Downtown Boulder kicking in an additional $343,902.

The ask for 2023 is $500,000, which will add University Hill-specific ambassadors and two outreach workers to help unhoused residents downtown and on the Hill. Trained professionals can go beyond what ambassadors are capable of, Chip said.

“Do you know what’s BJ’s training is for dealing with suicidal people? None,” said Chip. “Having dedicated staff who are trauma-informed and understand what services and resources are (available) — our team doesn’t know that, and they don’t have time to know that.”

Block by Block provides social service outreach in several cities, and employs an outreach program manager. Chico Lockhart said outreach workers are trained more extensively in de-escalation and engagement than ambassadors, though “we are training ambassadors in those things more and more” amid a worsening homelessness crisis.

“A lot more downtowns are looking into outreach,” Lockhart said. It has become best practice to have “one or two outreach workers on call in business districts, 40 hours a week.

While it’s not a “one-size-fits all recommendation, … prioritizing outreach coverage in the areas that have the highest presence of unsheltered neighbors” is typical in most communities, according to Lauren Barnes of Built for Zero, a national organization that provides a framework for measurably reduce homelessness.

“If that is part of a particular downtown area/district, then that’s where outreach activities would be concentrated,” Barnes wrote in response to emailed questions. “Dedicated outreach teams in downtown areas working in coordination with businesses, emergency responders and other community members are an important practice to engaging and housing people experiencing homelessness.”

‘Not a no’

Boulder has struggled to provide adequate outreach, instead relying on community nonprofits. A team was established in late 2020 but saw turnover almost immediately. “In 2021, the BTHERE program was inconsistent in both staffing and outreach,” staff noted in a recent update to city council.

Boulder Shelter for the Homeless took over the outreach contract, and a new team will be operational soon. The shelter’s interim director, Spencer Downing, said the plan is to engage with individuals who are otherwise disconnected from the system and services.

“We are hopeful that BTHERE will be reaching out to individuals who are not otherwise connected to services and may possibly not be on lists or other instruments that ends up getting into housing,” Downing said in a February interview. “For the shelter, housing remains a paramount interest. We are not charging the team with the goal of getting people into the shelter (and we) are very, very interested in making sure whatever BTHERE does is not duplicating what is already going on.”

Given the recently revamped outreach team, city officials may be reluctant to approve a request for downtown-specific services.

“It’s not a no,” said Cris Jones, director of Community Vitality, but the department might first like to rely on “existing resources” to fill the need for outreach downtown. That could include fully staffing up other teams that are part of the encampment removal strategy, such as Urban Park Rangers and the police department’s dedicated “encampment cleanup” team and Homeless Outreach Team.

That’s why Community Vitality is asking for only a year of funding, Jones said, rather than an ongoing budget item. That will give the city enough time to see if and how the fully implemented strategy works.

“We want to make sure the ambassadors are supported,” Jones said.

Mayor Aaron Brockett echoed Jones, saying that adding outreach workers downtown is “a fantastic idea” but that they may be budgeted for another program, such as a non-police response team the city is considering.

“The ambassadors have been doing a really good job at their wide variety of functions,” Brockett said. “Having outreach workers who are specifically trained for that and can help connect folks to services or assist them with a problem they’re having, it’s better for those folks who are assisted.”

For now, Zuromski and the other ambassadors will continue to do what they can. For the gentleman he talked to that sunny Tuesday, Zuromski planned to visit him once more that day, then stop by the next morning, maybe with a cup of coffee.

“I can’t take him anywhere. I can’t do anything,” Zuromski said. “All I can do is hope for a better tomorrow for him.”

Author’s note: This article has been updated to reflect the number of groups Block by Block works with.

— Shay Castle, @shayshinecastle

OKC Green Team’s mission is to keep downtown clean and safe

Darla Shelden, City Sentinel Senior Reporter

OKLAHOMA CITY– Downtown Oklahoma City Partnership has launched the Green Team, a new clean and safe program for the Downtown Business Improvement District (BID). The Green Team’s mission is to “improve the experience of the public spaces for visitors and locals in the downtown area.”

The program launched this spring and is administered by Block by Block, the nation’s leading provider of safety, cleaning and hospitality services for downtowns and Business Improvement Districts. To learn more, visit blockbyblock.com.

“At Block by Block, we pride ourselves on building teams of people who are passionate about the many services they deliver in our public spaces and even more passionate about the communities they serve,” said Derreck Hughes, Vice President of Operations of Block by Block.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with the Downtown Oklahoma City Partnership to make a tangible difference and bring positive outcomes to downtown through the efforts of the Green Team,” Hughes added.

The Green Team provides supplemental cleaning and safety services within the six downtown districts of the BID. The program’s core services include trash and litter removal, street vacuuming, power washing, sticker and graffiti removal in addition to special event information, business check-ins, and hospitality escorts.

The Green Team members perform services to keep downtown clean, as well as providing a sense of safety for all downtown users with recognizable uniforms and fleet of vehicles to provide a recognizable presence to serve as “eyes on the street” and help deter unwanted activity.

The Green Team approach prioritizes hospitality across all services to maintain downtown Oklahoma City as a friendly and inclusive destination. Downtown stakeholders and the public can directly access the Green Team through a dedicated phone number to request services or report issues at 405-240-1944.

The Green Team program is managed by Downtown Oklahoma City Partnership.

“We’ve received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback from downtown businesses and property owners regarding the Green Team,” said Jane Jenkins, President and CEO of Downtown Oklahoma City Partnership.

“There have been significant efficiencies in response time and visibility with the Green Team and we’re looking forward to compiling more data and identifying trends so that we can tailor and expand the program’s services as downtown continues to grow,” Jenkins added.

In the first two months, the Green Team swept 1,660 blocks of curbline, emptied 1,330 trash bags, and removed 981 instances of graffiti. The team also includes a full-time Homeless Outreach Specialist who manages social service outreach and referrals for people on the streets who are in need of mental or physical health services.

The organization works in partnership with organizations such as Homeless Alliance, Oklahoma City Police Department’s Homeless Outreach Team, and the City of OKC.

According to the press release, the Green Team Homeless Outreach Specialist will focus on building relationships and collecting data to better understand and serve the population of individuals experiencing homelessness in downtown.

The Green Team service area covers over 1.5 square miles of the Downtown Business Improvement District and includes Automobile Alley, Bricktown, City Center, Deep Deuce, Midtown, and West Village. For services, contact the Green Team at 405-240-1944.

More information about the Green Team and the Downtown OKC Business Improvement District can be found online by visiting DowntownOKC.com.