Chinatown community patrols document vandalism, help area businesses to build sense of safety
CTV
A group of volunteers is regularly conducting community patrols in Chinatown to help document vandalism and make the area a safer space for area businesses and residents.
A group of volunteers is regularly conducting community patrols in Chinatown to help document vandalism and make the area a safer space for area businesses and residents.
The Chinatown Transformative Collaborative Society of Edmonton (CTC) leads the volunteer efforts to help revitalize the area by doing regular garbage cleanups and graffiti inventories.
"There's a lot of effort being put towards Chinatown right now through various agencies in the city to clean up Chinatown, so the need for that is not as great as doing a check on vandalism," said Margaret Smith, the city's McCauley and Chinatown revitalization coordinator.
Volunteers will walk through the neighbourhood and note any newly smashed windows, windows needing to be boarded up, graffiti, or hate messaging that's been tagged in alleys or on the side of businesses.
"What we're trying to do is create an inventory of smashed windows and create some sort of window replacement program," Smith said. "(It's) very cost prohibitive to a person who has their windows smashed over and over again.
"Because the more claims they make with their insurance, the more of a liability they are for their insurance company, and they become a risk," Smith added.
The group is working with all levels of government to try and secure funding to help area businesses cover the costs of replacing windows and cleaning graffiti. While doing their graffiti inventory walks, volunteers will also hand out naloxone kits.
