You can tell when a city has no pride in itself. Just by walking down the streets you can see how callous citizens have discarded their rubbish in the gutters. Crime is on the rise and you don't even feel safe walking from your car to your water treatment chemical supplier. No one wants to live like this, so no one wants to move to a city like this. Luckily, Tacoma, Washington doesn't fall into this category. Citizens of Tacoma are proud to live there and do their best to keep the city safe and clean. In fact, they've even started a program called Tacoma Safe and Clean.
The Safe and Clean program started in the spring of 2008 as a joint initiative by the city and its citizens. Everyone was concerned about crime rates, garbage, and aesthetic problems, and they felt it was high time something was done about it. Within that year alone, they picked up 500 tons of used diapers and old junk from public spaces and reduced the crime rate by 18%. Since then, the program has been going strong with a special focus on crime reduction. You can read updates on their progress at www.cityoftacoma.org.
If you want to get involved or are wondering how the Safe and Clean program will help you if you were to become a resident, take the time to explore some of the initiatives that have come out of it next time you get a break from operating the automatic banding machine at work. You can access crime data on the city's website, as well as reports on the progress of the task forces that are working towards reducing vehicle theft, cleaning up gang graffiti, reintegrating offenders into the community, and preventing burglaries.
To get involved, all you have to do is contact the safe and clean program administrators by phone or email. You can also prepare some notes on the area of your expertise or concern (for instance, that runoff from lead lined cabinets in the dump may be leaking into the city's water supply) and attend the next meeting. The safe and clean program wants you to know: if you care about Tacoma, you'll get involved.
Of course, devoting a lot of time to organizing volunteer work may be beyond the abilities of some people with demanding jobs making pipeline strainers, so there are other ways to get involved too. You could report crime when you see it, join a community group like your neighborhood council, help get the word out about volunteers who are doing a good job, improve your own home, or learn more about city services that might help you. Do whatever fits your abilities and available time, but do something.
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