On Saturday, December 19, beginning at 10:am, free turkeys, toys, medical and dental screening , face painting and other fun activities will be provided free to the community at Jesse Owens Park located at 9651 south Western Avenue, Los Angeles CA 90047.
The event called, Humanitarian Day, is just one of a number of events organized by The Safe Communities Initiative to address more than 40 homicides that took place in the month of August in Los Angeles.
On September 2, 2015, a meeting was held at the headquarters of the Los Angles Sentinel Newspaper by more than 80 of the most influential intervention and prevention experts in Los Angeles County.
With the Support of CEO Danny J. Bakewell senior who donated the first 10,000. To assist in the effort, organizers vowed to work with existing strategies to address the surge in homicides in the 8th and 9th council districts particularly, the Jesse Owens community where local gangs vowed to shoot 100 people in 100 days. Organizers immediately went to work in the heart of the community to find so-called gang members more than willing to work to help re build their communities.
Organizers of the initiative also went to South Park where similar meetings were held with local community leaders and city funded gang reduction specialist and leaders from the Athens park community where discussions are underway to host city-wide violence prevention, community-based summit at South West College in the month of February.
“We know what works,” said Khalid Shah, one of the organizers of the initiative “we’ve been at this for more than two decades with positive results but we can’t rest on our pass success. Our work must be expanded to include new strategies and sustainable solutions that will change the quality of life for our communities.”
Humanitarian Day is the product of the ILM Foundation and will be hosted this year by Rizilient, a local organization from the Jesse Owens community working with at-risk youth and in conjunction with United Christian Missionary Baptist Church, Watts Life United, Professional Community Intervention Training Institute International, Southern California Cease Fire Committee, Nation of Islam, Front Line Soldiers, Seeking Peaceful Solutions Inc., National Low Riders Association, Stop the Violence Increase the Peace Foundation, ILM Foundation and a host of other community and faith-based agencies.
The event will also recognize the efforts of several community and political leaders including:
Danny J. Bakewell Sr., City Councilman Marqueece Dawson Harris, actor and director Bill Duke,
NBA star Russel Westbrook, LAPD Commander Phillip Tangeriti, Joe Mendoza Deputy Director,
Department of Parks and Recreation, Reggie Hamilton, Department of Recreation, Rafel Cano, the L.A. Sentinel and the L.A. Watts Times.
There will be a prayer for the 40 individuals who lost their lives in the month of August and 14 balloons will be release for the victims who died in San Bernardino.
