CDCs as Partners to Improve Neighborhood Safety

LISC recognizes that building equitable communities goes beyond providing affordable housing. That’s why LISC has a portfolio of programs across the country focused on everything from sports to AmeriCorps to financial literacy. It also includes a team of experts on addressing neighborhood safety. LISC’s approach to crime reduction focuses on high crime places – neighborhoods and specific streets or intersections where crime is a serious problem. It brings together partners with different information, perspectives and resources relevant to those problems. In doing so, LISC not only seeks to reduce crime, but also build the trust and infrastructure that make communities resilient and safe.

On November 21, LISC Connecticut invited our colleagues from Safety & Justice to facilitate a full-day workshop with CDC partners across the state.  Representatives from Hartford, New Haven, and Waterbury were present and all echoed similar concerns to one another about their reasons for attending the workshop. High on the list included addressing blight and building stronger relationships with police.

Throughout the day, the LISC team presented on topics that included understanding crime and place, the principles of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED), and the SARA Model for addressing problems of neighborhood crime. After lunch, attendees took a walk around the Fair Haven neighborhood of New Haven to put their newly learned skills to work. The group identified opportunities to: improve signage, increase lighting, address tree and shrub maintenance, modify street design to control traffic, and reduce littering with additional garbage cans.

LISC Safety and Justice has worked in Connecticut for many years. Currently it is working on a project in Hartford to address crime at the intersection of Barbour and Judson Streets in the North End, and recently wrapped up a multi-year project in the Newhallville neighborhood in New Haven.

We’re excited to keep these conversations moving forward. LISC knows that a healthy community is one in which its residents feel safe. And when communities are safe, local economies can flourish. For more information on LISC’s Safety & Justice program and additional resources, please visit their website.

A special thank you to NeighborWorks New Horizons for hosting this workshop!