WASHINGTON — D.C. students are raising concerns over the effectiveness of a program designed to get kids safely to and from school.
The Safe Passage program currently serves 50 schools in the District by providing workers, known as Safe Passage Ambassadors, that oversee the safety of students off campus. The program is intended to provide students with conflict resolution, mediation services, and community relationship building.
However, some students testified during a DC Council public safety hearing, that some Safe Passage workers are not showing up to work and when they do, they are not engaged.
"The Safe Passage does not live up to its name completely because of their lack of effort," Ward 8 student Aaron Brown said during the public comment section of the Council meeting.
High-crime areas and zones where there tend be a large number of incidents are designated with Safe Passage Ambassadors.
"The authority that Safe Passage ambassadors have isn't much and doesn't make for the overall sense of safety and security for my peers and I," Ward 7 student Skyler Green said.
Students told the members of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety that despite the presence of the workers on their route to and from school, they still felt fear when they stepped out the door.
"The Safe Passage Program presents multiple issues ranging from the ambassadors being under the influence before and during shifts, having personal conversations on the phone, and sleeping during their shifts," Ward 8 student Maniya Pearson said.
Mayor Muriel Bowser is fully funding the District's Safe Passage Program in her proposed 2025 budget, with $9.7 million dollars designated for the initiative.
D.C.'s Deputy Mayor of Public Safety and Justice Lindsey Appiah was questioned by the Council following the students' testimonies. Her office overseas the Safe Passage Program.
Appiah told the Committee Chair, Councilmember Brooke Pinto, that not all workers know how to deal with kids, but that there is a "standardization of expectations" for the employees.
"We will work with the schools and with our community based organizations, to ensure that all are meeting at least the basic expectation of professionalism and engagement," Appiah told WUSA9 following her testimony.
The Office of Public Safety and Justice says they conduct monthly and occasional pop-up visits to the sites to ensure that Safe Passage workers are present and engaged.
"What they're really saying is they want trusting and caring adults, and so we want to make sure that's what they have," Appiah added when asked about the student concerns.
Brown provided insight into some of the improvements he would like to see, telling the council, "Body cameras, hiring non-smokers, and having work phones for emergencies or engagement with other workers."
Deputy Mayor Appiah says she is also reaching out to community members that want to step up and help kids get to and from school, because the reality is that Safe Passage cannot cover the entire city.
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