Mission

IN 1989 COMMUNITY LEADERS CALLED A PUBLIC MEETING TO DISCUSS STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS THE EXTREME GANG-RELATED VIOLENCE IN PIERCE COUNTY. APPROXIMATELY 200 PEOPLE WERE EXPECTED TO ATTEND, BUT MORE THAN 2,000 FLOODED INTO THE HIGH SCHOOL GYMNASIUM THAT NIGHT. FROM THIS GATHERING, SAFE STREETS EMERGED AS A GRASSROOTS INITIATIVE TO EMPOWER NEIGHBORS TO UNITE AGAINST CRIME. IN THE INTERVENING 35 YEARS, SAFE STREETS HAS ORGANIZED, TRAINED AND MOBILIZED A NETWORK OF OVER 125 NEIGHBORHOOD GROUPS IN HIGH-RISK AREAS, EMPOWERING MORE THAN 13,500 COMMUNITY LEADERS AND 190,000 RESIDENTS TO ENSURE THAT THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS AND SCHOOLS ARE SAFE. IN RESPONSE TO EVOLVING COMMUNITY NEEDS, OUR WORK IS INCREASINGLY FOCUSED ON 1) CREATING SAFE, POSITIVE, AND INCLUSIVE NEIGHBORHOODS AND ENVIRONMENTS WHERE CHILDREN AND YOUTH CAN THRIVE; AND 2) ENGAGING AND SUPPORTING YOUNG PEOPLE TO BECOME TOMORROW'S CIVIC LEADERS.