LEWISTON (NEWS CENTER Maine) –
After two homicides and other violent incidents police and community members in Lewiston say tensions are now easing.
A big part of that is the Peace in the Park project, a volunteer network formed after Donald Giusti was killed in the city's Kennedy park in June.
A two-pronged approach, combining law enforcement and Peace in the Park seems to be yielding results.
“Things have changed dramatically in the park,” said Sgt. Robert Ullrich of the Lewiston Police Department.
“I think the biggest changed I’ve noticed is people vacating the park at the curfew.”
That new ordinance requires anyone in the park to leave by 10 p.m.
Police officers say everyone so far has left each day voluntarily and without incident.
But policing is only part of the solution to make Lewiston safer, since some people remain suspicious of law enforcement.
That’s where the second prong, encouraging a community dialogue and “peace in the park” come in.
30 yellow-shirted volunteers now roam the park in rotating shifts every afternoon.
The volunteers are paired up and the organization tries to pick people from as diverse backgrounds possible.
Brian and Jim Thompson, the father and uncle of Donald Giusti are among the volunteers.
“I do see the park changing,” said Jim Thompson.
“They’re talking to each other, they’re alleviating some of the issues. A couple friends can get in an argument and now people say to knock it off.”
The community safety volunteers are trained to stop fights and encourage dialogue between people who disagree.
The say the evidence what’s being done is working because they see more families recreating and more people of different racial backgrounds, who perhaps didn't get a long before Giusti’s death, saying hello.
“I think Donald's death has done so much for us in the sense that we need to wake up, we need to work together, said Fatuma Hussein, the director of the Immigrant Resource Center of Maine, another volunteer.
Peace in the Park hopes to increase the number of volunteers to 60 because 30 barely covers all the shifts needed.
Anyone interested in joining can contact Steve Wessler at 207-288-1101.