North End Ambassadors looking for expansion after successful summer

North End Ambassadors looking for expansion after successful summer

CBC – 51 minutes ago

 
CBC - North End Ambassadors looking for expansion after successful summer

Managers of Winnipeg's North End Ambassador Program are searching for private sponsors to allow the program to expand after enduring a successful summer. 

The non-confrontational street patrol program is run by the North End Community Renewal Corporation, and its aim is to create a safe and clean neighbourhood. 
Specifically, what the group does ranges from organizing safe walks, to picking up needles and crack pipes, to reporting illegal dumping in the area. 
"It takes time to find needles because they are so small, some of them are clear, not all of them have caps on them. It's unbelievable how many needles are in the North End, especially where the children are walking towards their schools and that," the program manager Kenneth Harry said.
"People say they're in the back lanes, it's not in the back lanes anymore. It's mostly in the boulevards, in parks and stuff. We found them in St. John's Park."
In the last year alone, the group has picked up more than 1,500 used needles, Harry said. 
Currently, the program relies on a number of volunteers, if the program can secure sponsorship, Harry hopes to be able to pay some of those volunteers. 
"We'd like to have some sustainable funding. It's a chance for organizations to show some visible support for the health and safety of Winnipeg's inner city communities," Harry said.
Marcel Anderson volunteers with the ambassador program, and he said his son has inspired him to help create change in the community.
"My role basically is ... just be a role model in the community. Doing what I can do for the next generation to have a safe and cleaner environment there in the North End," he said. 

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/north-end-ambassadors-looking-expansion-152149129.html