We Are Community. We Are Safety.

As a 20 year veteran in public safety and lifelong Clevelander, I'm too familiar with the challenges and opportunities our community faces as it relates to building a safe city in partnership with residents.  It is no secret that the City of Cleveland struggles with poverty and that our public safety forces do not reflect the racial, ethnic, gender and gender identity diversity of Cleveland residents.  According to recent U.S. Census reports data Cleveland is the poorest city in the nation with 30.8% of adults and nearly half of all children living below poverty.  While the city of Cleveland is very diverse with African-Americans and Hispanic-American/Latinx making up a combined 64% of the overall population, combined they make up less than 25% of the police department and less that 20% of the fire department.  Additionally, while women make up half of the Cleveland population they are less than 1% of the fire department and less than 15% of the police department. Our public safety does not reflect the people it serves. To create a pathway out of poverty and build a public safety force that is reflective of the community NTN Prep seeks to introduce, train, prepare and support Clevelanders for careers in public safety. 

Launch a campaign with the goal of introducing neighborhood residents to careers in public safety, demystifying the hiring process, and outlining what to expect on the job via monthly interactive info sessions at trusted community hubs.  We will also canvass innercity neighborhoods and attend community/social events to amplify our outreach efforts.

Our target audience: 18-39 year old Cleveland residents of diverse identities to generate interest.  We will work in partnership with a team of analytical, fitness, nutritional, behavioral health, and culturally competent experts to assist clients in building the requisite skills to become community centered public safety officials.

My parents are lifelong community activists. My upbringing in active community engagement coupled with my 20 years in public safety have given me unique insight into systemic challenges and their impacts on families. I am tired of placing band-aids on social issues.  Lack of representation in public safety is a huge problem and it begins at the root.  Effective exposure and recruitment will improve diversity in public safety and create pathways out of poverty both of which will have positive immediate and generational effects.