NORFOLK, Va. — Calvin Williams met News 3 in Norfolk's Calvert Square Friday.
"I was actually born in the house two doors down right here," said My2K Foundation Executive Director Calvin Williams as he pointed out a home.
In his old neighborhood and in a bright yellow vest he waited at a bus stop. He, and a handful of other My2K Foundation volunteers, are there each day to greet Norfolk Public School kids as they get home from school.
Right on schedule, dozens of smiling faces got off the bus — but in years past that hasn't always been the case.
"[There have been] angry parents bringing guns to the bus stop and fighting, and just people not paying attention to driving through here speeding while the kids are trying to get home," explained parent Christina Wilson.
"Sometimes I don't feel safe walking home, like someone's going to kidnap me," said Tameria Fletcher, 4th grader.
And each day kids and parents walk past painful memories.
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"Everybody out here got trauma," Williams pointed. "It's like, what, last year, the year before last, somebody got killed, I think it was right here."
Safety has been a concern here as it is in any neighborhood.
"This goes for everybody. Even Ghent has problems, Larchmont, everybody has problems," explained Williams. "All crime is not done in housing authority. It's done in Norfolk. And we need Norfolk to stand up and be a village."
That's where the yellow vests come in.
"No disrespect to the police, the police come when they get called," said Williams. "They come when a crime actually happens. We are working on making sure the crime never happens. A lot of times if we take initiative and put skin in the game it never happens. So lets fix our problems. Let's have this conversation. Let's see your point of view. Let's actually listen."
Many of the volunteers are from the area, like Williams, and truly understand the people they want to keep safe.
"These are real people with real lives," said Williams. "People go to work every day. They keep the heartbeat of the city, the central workers and they got to come home to all the chaos? Nobody wants to be in that environment. They want peace. They want to be safe too."
The effort to improve public safety started with The New Virginia Majority in Calvert Square and Young Terrace. At the time parents reported hearing gunfire during hours kids were returning home from school.
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The New Virginia Majority noticed gunfire tended to cease during community events hosted by the organization, so they built a presence in the area.
News 3 first shared about the effortsin 2022.
The safe passage efforts were later taken over by the My2K Foundation.
The My2K Foundation volunteers are trained to help with violence and crime prevention, road safety, and community building. They have a presence in Calvert Square, Young Terrace, and expanded into several other areas around Norfolk.
"You'll see us out here in the rain, whatever the weather, like the tornado warning last night I was out here making sure nobody doing anything crazy," said Williams. "I've been out here in blackouts shining the lights from the cars."
"They walk us [from the bus stop] through to the end, because we live closer to the other end, and make sure we, and even myself, that we get home safely," said Wilson. "The love I have for my kids is beyond anything, so knowing they're okay is the best feeling."
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"I feel like I'm rich and I have bodyguards," said Fletcher.
Williams said the neighborhood's been seeing fewer shootings.
"Not saying it's stopped, but it's limited it," said Williams. "It's not as much as it was before."
And, Williams said, a greater sense of security — in a "different" Calvert Square.
"People care about the community, care about our children, our future," said Williams. "When we start recognizing it's our children then things can change in the community."
They want to keep it that way.
For more information and how you can help visit the My2K Foundation website.
