NEW YORK—On Jan 4, The Epoch Times hit the streets with New York City’s Guardian Angels. The Guardian Angels, who patrol the streets hoping to make them safer, are a global organization started in New York City. The angels explained their work and their history as they patrolled. Please click here for the first part of this two-part series.
Cooperation with the NYPD
Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly has breakfast with the Guardian Angels founder every week.
An important part of making the city a better place is cooperation between the NYPD and the Guardian Angels.
“The Guardian Angels are independent and autonomous. We don’t take orders from the police, but we cooperate with them” said Sliwa.
The Guardian Angels receive a lot of support from the NYPD and offer a helping hand as well, especially in the outer boroughs.
Fiscal cuts have caused the NYPD to lose more than 10,000 officers, which results in a lack of man power to provide the needed service in outer boroughs.
“The biggest problems are Brooklyn and the Bronx,” Sliwa said. The areas south of 96th St. get less attention by the NYPD, he said.
Sliwa acknowledges that the mayor and police commissioner are doing well with the number of resources at hand, but also points out that many areas in the city benefit from having the Guardian Angels presence.
“Mayor Bloomberg is one of Curtis’s best friends,” said Wilfred.
“If we’re on the scene and we need backup from [the NYPD], within five minutes, they’re there,” said Wilfred.
Keeping Youth Off the Streets
The most recent mission of the Guardian Angels in the city is to get the youth involved in a positive force.
“If you don’t get the young people involved in something very proactive initially, gang members are going to start trying to recruit them,” said Sliwa. “It’s showing you can trust young people. Young people can be disciplined. They don’t have to have weapons. They can be peacemakers.”
Gavares was approached 23 years ago by a Guardian Angel, and he said that since joining, he has become a different person.
“Guardian Angels changed me, big time. Then, I could have been one of the bad elements. I could have joined a gang. But I learned from people that are wise, those who have wisdom, intelligence, and knowledge. What I learned from them made me who I am today, a good person. Back then I had my trials and tribulations, but I learned from my mistakes.”
“Gangs and other things in society today have really messed up a lot of young kids’ lives. What we’re trying to do is reach out to these young kids and tell them there’s positive things out there that they can do,” he said.
As part of the organization’s efforts to reach out to children, the Guardian Angels developed the Junior Angels sectors in which children receive self-defense training and prepare to become a future Guardian Angel. In fact, the training center has become a safe spot for children for homework assistance and other programs.
The training center is located in Washington Heights and the children are trained by Dennis Torres, who has been an Angel since the organization was first founded.
Encouraging Citizens to Take Action
The Guardian Angels have received multiple awards throughout the years, and Sliwa was given the key to the city in 2009. Sliwa and the Guardian Angels encourage people to join and contribute to their communities. Applicants must be 17 or older and not have committed any major felonies. However, most misdemeanors can be overlooked, and Wilfred believes everyone deserves a second chance if they are open and honest up front.
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“We trust people, whereas government does not. Government has an attitude: leave it to us. Our attitude is, yes, some things, but there are a lot other things citizens can do,” said Sliwa. “You can trust people to take care of themselves.”
He believes that if all citizens fulfill their own duties, there would be less reliance on the police and the community would thus be a safer place where everyone looked after each other on a daily basis.
“One person can make a difference,” said Sliwa. “People shouldn’t just sit back and think there’s nothing to be done because they are waiting for an army or for the masses to rise up. If they have within them the desire to make a change, they just need to scrape the barnacles off their backside, get their rear in gear and start doing things.”
A motivational speaker, Sliwa also uses the Guardian Angels as an example to send out a positive, encouraging message to people.
“Against all odds, we succeeded. Everyone said we would fail. They did everything to stop us, impede us—they arrested us, they harassed us, and now they have embraced us. You have to be patient, and you have to prove yourselves.”
