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Release Date: Wednesday, February 20th 2008
The Globe: Downtown experience enhanced through Safety Ambassadors
Kevin Moran, The Globe, Point Park University
February 20, 2008
Around the time of the All-Star game in 2006, the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership commissioned several Safety Ambassadors to help control the expanding crowd population of downtown Pittsburgh.
Over the two plus years the Safety Ambassadors have been prowling the streets of Downtown, they have effectively helped thousands of people and dealt with several problems that the Pittsburgh Police simply could not attend to.
"They are walking and biking the streets of Pittsburgh seven days a week to help anyone in need," said Vice President of Operations Jonathan P. Cox, who also oversees contracts for the Safety Ambassador program.
Today the nine ambassadors, dressed in bright red coats, who make up the current group of Safety Ambassadors, are still around to help the downtown population with anything they need.
The main purpose of the Safety Ambassadors is to patrol the Downtown area. They deal with anything from helping people cross the street and educating them about things to do in Downtown, to aiding people with emergency medical help. Every ambassador carries a walkie-talkie and a cell phone to communicate with each other and to alert the police of any activity that they cannot handle.
None of the Safety Ambassadors carry any kind of weapons on their person.
They do, however, carry a first-aid kit, and every ambassador is trained and certified in CPR. Last year alone, there were a total of 205 requests for 911 assistance made by Safety Ambassadors.
Although they help to monitor the streets, they are in no way affiliated with the Pittsburgh Police.
"Everyone keeps their eyes and ears open for anything that may seem out of place. If we do see anything out of the ordinary, the Safety Ambassadors can alert police immediately," Cox said.
According to the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership''s 2007 annual report, Safety Ambassadors helped 17,084 pedestrians, addressed 1,218 aggressive panhandling situations and had 752 homeless outreach occurrences.
Over the two plus years the Safety Ambassadors have been prowling the streets of Downtown, they have effectively helped thousands of people and dealt with several problems that the Pittsburgh Police simply could not attend to.
"They are walking and biking the streets of Pittsburgh seven days a week to help anyone in need," said Vice President of Operations Jonathan P. Cox, who also oversees contracts for the Safety Ambassador program.
Today the nine ambassadors, dressed in bright red coats, who make up the current group of Safety Ambassadors, are still around to help the downtown population with anything they need.
The main purpose of the Safety Ambassadors is to patrol the Downtown area. They deal with anything from helping people cross the street and educating them about things to do in Downtown, to aiding people with emergency medical help. Every ambassador carries a walkie-talkie and a cell phone to communicate with each other and to alert the police of any activity that they cannot handle.
None of the Safety Ambassadors carry any kind of weapons on their person.
They do, however, carry a first-aid kit, and every ambassador is trained and certified in CPR. Last year alone, there were a total of 205 requests for 911 assistance made by Safety Ambassadors.
Although they help to monitor the streets, they are in no way affiliated with the Pittsburgh Police.
"Everyone keeps their eyes and ears open for anything that may seem out of place. If we do see anything out of the ordinary, the Safety Ambassadors can alert police immediately," Cox said.
According to the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership''s 2007 annual report, Safety Ambassadors helped 17,084 pedestrians, addressed 1,218 aggressive panhandling situations and had 752 homeless outreach occurrences.
"The biggest problem I have seen has been panhandlers and homeless. They''re pretty pushy and sometimes get out of hand with people," Safety Ambassador Darryl Carter said.
The Safety Ambassadors are out patrolling the streets 365 days a year and do so from 11 a.m. until midnight from Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. on Sunday.
"We would like to have ambassadors out there 24 hours a day, but we just don''t have enough people for that," Cox said.
At all times of operation during a day, there are always two ambassadors on duty.
Cox went on to say, "If there is a special event where we will have a large number of people in the Downtown area, like St. Patrick''s Day or the Regatta, we will put more than two ambassadors on as we see fit."
In addition to helping the public, all ambassadors carry around all kinds of information regarding things to do in Downtown and how to get around. They have maps of the city as well as shopping and dining guides.
Another service that the Safety Ambassadors offer is a free Safety Escort Program. This service is offered to anyone who needs some extra assistance in crossing the street, or getting from one place to the next.
"Usually it''s a lot of older people, who are a little scared to cross the street," Carter said. Last year alone, they helped 342 people get safely to their destinations.
Over the past two years that the Safety Ambassador program has been in place, a combined total of 30,000 miles in Downtown Pittsburgh have been covered by Safety Ambassadors on foot and on bike.
The Safety Ambassadors are out patrolling the streets 365 days a year and do so from 11 a.m. until midnight from Monday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. on Sunday.
"We would like to have ambassadors out there 24 hours a day, but we just don''t have enough people for that," Cox said.
At all times of operation during a day, there are always two ambassadors on duty.
Cox went on to say, "If there is a special event where we will have a large number of people in the Downtown area, like St. Patrick''s Day or the Regatta, we will put more than two ambassadors on as we see fit."
In addition to helping the public, all ambassadors carry around all kinds of information regarding things to do in Downtown and how to get around. They have maps of the city as well as shopping and dining guides.
Another service that the Safety Ambassadors offer is a free Safety Escort Program. This service is offered to anyone who needs some extra assistance in crossing the street, or getting from one place to the next.
"Usually it''s a lot of older people, who are a little scared to cross the street," Carter said. Last year alone, they helped 342 people get safely to their destinations.
Over the past two years that the Safety Ambassador program has been in place, a combined total of 30,000 miles in Downtown Pittsburgh have been covered by Safety Ambassadors on foot and on bike.
