Our Stories

Going back to school—safely

The last thing a child—or her family—should ever have to worry about is the commute to school. Unfortunately, getting to school and back poses real dangers for kids in many crime-plagued, low-income communities, to the point where attendance and learning suffer. Safe Passage programs, many with LISC’s support, are watching over students on their way to school and helping build more secure neighborhoods in the bargain.

A child’s ability to walk safely to and from school is a basic litmus test for community wellbeing. That kind of safety affects kids’ attendance, learning and sense of security, as well as a family’s peace of mind. It even correlates to the quality of staff a school can attract and retain. And it speaks volumes about the overall health of a neighborhood.

In many low-income places, there are no guarantees of safe passage. As school reopens for the fall, tens of thousands of American children on their way to class will navigate a gauntlet of drug deals and gang activity, endure sexual harassment or assault and cross areas that are isolated and put them perilously close to car traffic.

But in school districts across the country, “Safe Passage” programs, some with LISC’s help, are working to make walking to school the ordinary, peaceful activity it should be. It entails a simple set of eyes-on-the-street strategies: parents, educators, merchants and other concerned residents are trained to act as “corner captains” or monitors; local precincts beef up their presence along school routes; signage and murals let kids—and others--know that they’re on a protected path.

A volunteer "corner captain" watches over a Safe Passage route - San Francisco, CA
(Photo: Paul Dunn/Central City Extra)
A volunteer "corner captain" watches over a Safe Passage route - San Francisco, CA (Photo: Paul Dunn/Central City Extra)

In San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, which has long struggled with high crime rates, Safe Passage staff painted bright yellow and orange “bricks” along sidewalk routes to local schools, and corner captains from the community stand at high-risk intersections, watching over students traveling to and from home and sending a clear message to miscreants.

According to locals, it’s been like the parting of the seas: knots of drug dealers get out of the way; shop owners report a better business climate and parents say they feel more at ease knowing someone is looking out for the community’s 3500 school kids. In the first year of the program, which was a Bay Area LISC AmeriCorps service project, Tenderloin police precinct reported a nine percent drop in crime.

In Washington, the Seattle Neighborhood Group, along with its partners in an initiative called “A Beautiful Safe Place for Youth”, is leading a Safe Passages program that focuses on youth crime hotspots where fights tend to break out after school. The Seattle project brings school counselors into the equation to work with kids who may be prone to violence as part of a larger strategy funded by the DOJ’s Byrne Criminal Justice Innovation Program, which LISC helps guide.

And in Chicago, another of our partners, Claretian Associates, trains and employs local residents to supervise hazardous areas and routes, as part of a citywide effort to create a culture of safety around schools.

The work of Safe Passage programs dovetails perfectly with the overall strategy of LISC’s Community Safety Initiative. By empowering and training residents to insist on and work for safer streets, and by bringing law enforcement and community members together in the effort, everyone wins: neighborhoods feel better, business prospers and children can do the crucial work of learning—and having fun along the way.

Julia RyanABOUT THE AUTHOR

Julia Ryan, Vice President, LISC Health Initiatives
Julia Ryan leads LISC’s national work to improve health in communities across America, with a particular focus on social and environmental determinants of health that account for stark differences in life expectancy across underresourced and more affluent places. Julia brings 20 years of experience in community development to this role at LISC. She previously served as Director of LISC’s national safety and criminal justice initiatives from 2004 through 2017.

See more stories from
visit the local office's website
Explore the LISC local offices involved in this story.