Community event to promote crime prevention in Uniontown
In an effort to promote crime prevention, Uniontown’s East End community will take part next week in a national campaign focused on fostering neighborhood camaraderie.
The Fayette County chapter of the NAACP will sponsor a community “night out” event as part of National Night Out at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the East End United Community Center in Uniontown.
“It’s an effort to promote community awareness in crime prevention,” said Fayette County NAACP chapter member the Rev. Gary Yarbrough. “We want all of the community to be involved in crime prevention. We want to bring everybody together.”
National Night Out is an annual community-building program that promotes police-community partnerships in an effort to make neighborhoods safer.
Yarbrough said the event will give community leaders and local officials a platform to provide residents with information regarding crime prevention and how they can join ongoing discussions aimed at curbing crime.
“We want people to know that there are avenues they can take so that they don’t have to be afraid to speak up,” Yarbrough said.
Fayette County NAACP members will be joined by representatives from the Uniontown Police Department, Uniontown parks and recreation department and East End Ministerial Alliance, among individuals from other local organizations.
Yarbrough said the event will also provide community leaders an opportunity to encourage youth to seek programs and activities that will engage them and keep them from misbehaving.
“We want to make the kids aware of activities taking place during the day, activities for young people to keep them busy and keep them out of trouble,” Yarbrough.
National Night Out is an initiative of the National Association of Town Watch, a national non-profit crime prevention organization dedicated to the development and promotion of crime prevention in communities.
The NATW held the inaugural National Night Out in 1984 with participation from 2.5 million people in 400 communities across 23 states. The annual event now involves over 38 million people in more than 16,000 communities nationwide and in several U.S. territories, Canadian cities and international U.S. military bases.
Neighborhoods typically host block parties, festivals, parades, cookouts and other various community events with safety demonstrations, seminars, youth events, exhibits and visits from emergency personnel.
Yarbrough said that while various organizations have individually held National Night Out events in Uniontown in the past, efforts this year are focused on joining all participants together for one communal event.
Individuals from various local organizations will speak to attendees about the ways the community can promote crime prevention and make it a safer and better place to live, Yarbrough said. The presentation will be followed by a unified walk through the community.
The East End United Community Center is located at 150 Coolspring St. in Uniontown.