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Active community members making a difference in IMPD’s East District

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — We’ve heard it before from Mayor Joe Hogsett, IMPD Chief Troy Riggs and community leaders like Reverend Charles Harrison: If we want to cut crime, the community has to get on board. In IMPD East District, you’ll find neighbors who love the east side and work along side IMPD to improve it every day.

24-Hour News 8 asked IMPD for some of the most active neighbors who are partnering with police to change the east side for the better. We met with three of IMPD’s recommendations to find out what they were doing to make a difference in their communities.SHARON TABARD 

Sharon Tabard lives on the far east side. Recently, her neighborhood hosted a mobile roll call for East District. Before they started their shift, officers gathered in front of Tabard’s house to meet the people they serve.

“We wanted to show our support because we love them,” said Tabard.

Tabard is at every neighborhood meeting, and at every community event she can attend. She knows her officers by name, and hopes a roll call like this will show her appreciation.

“You know, they get bad vibes so often. So need us to work with them,” said Tabard.

During the roll call, officers had a chance to form relationships and build trust with young people. An officer showed toddlers the lights on her squad car and let them talk over the speaker and two officers played a game of basketball with neighborhood kids.

Tabard said getting to know her neighbors and and the officers who work in the neighborhood is key to improving the east side.

“They can’t know what’s going on in every neighborhood unless we help them, by reporting suspicious activity and those kinds of things. You know, they need our  help,” said Tabard.PASTOR JAMES JACKSON

Pastor James Jackson leads Fervent Prayer Church on the far east side. He’s also president of the Far East Side Action committee. 24-Hour News 8 talked to him during a “Walk With IMPD” community event.

“When people can see other people out trying to make a difference, that feeling or that motivates others to do something and it’s contagious. I think it attracts other people to get involved,” said Jackson.

Jackson works to end domestic violence on the east side and provide jobs for teens. His church partners with IMPD and Gleaner’s to get food to the hungry.

“I don’t think any one organization is going to be able to solve the problems that we have in regard to hunger, crime, education issues. All those things contribute to crime. No organization can do it by themselves. So when churches and other community stakeholders, organizations come together and work with law enforcement, it helps us cover a lot more ground a lot faster,” said Jackson.

Those are issues the east side knows all too well. New York and Sherman and 42nd and Post are two focus areas in East District that make up a large amount of the city’s crime, but that’s why neighbors walk those streets proudly.

“That’s one of the reasons I’m out here today. I would like to see other people say ‘hey I want to get out and walk with other folks in the community’ you have grandmothers, grandfathers, mothers, fathers… You have young people out here, law enforcement out here and other folks trying to make sure that people can see that we haven’t given up on the east side. We haven’t given up on our neighborhoods. I think the more that we come together, the more that we walk, the bigger impact and the bigger difference we can make,” said Jackson.KELLY WENSING

Kelly Wensing works closely with the Near East Side Community Organization, or NESCO. She’s served as NESCO president and meets with members to develop specific goals for the area.

“It is pretty disheartening and you wake up in the news every morning and someone was shot on the east side or there was a car chase on the east side,” said Wensing.

Wensing uses that as motivation. She and her husband specifically chose to live on the near east side, instead of somewhere like Carmel or Greenwood.

“We wanted to live where we were impacting. We wanted to change the culture and the community to make a positive impact on the kids that were here,” said Wensing.

Wensing and her husband started a charter school. And with NESCO she’s worked to fill vacant buildings and cleanup the neighborhood.HOW TO GET INVOLVED

Jackson, Wensing and Tabard agree — neighbors need to get to know each other in order to make a difference.

“You have to get involved. If you don’t get involved, your community suffers for it,” said Wensing.

Wensing recommended finding a community meeting to get started.

“We’re really connected and paying attention. I think that’s what the people on the east side really do. They’re not behind their shutters, they’ve got their windows open. They’re sitting on their porches, they’re walking their neighborhood, they’re making eye contact and saying hello,” said Wensing.

Jackson recommended attending IMPD’s community walk or an East District Task Force meeting. The community walks start at 6 p.m. every Wednesday at the end of the Sav-a-Lot parking lot near Washington Street and Sherman Avenue. East District Task Force meetings are held once a month at East District headquarters.

“Let’s develop relationships before something bad happens, because we know at some point something bad will happen. And when something bad happens, you have to try to develop relationships with people before you can really get anything done. But once you develop relationships before something bad happens, it makes it a whole lot easier to get right to the problem because you know people that you’re working with,” said Jackson.

Tabard said concerned neighbors should organize a neighborhood crime watch.

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