Been out for nightlife downtown lately? You may have noticed a new presence on the streets outside some of the city’s busiest establishments.

The group is called the Community Engagement Response Team — and it’s made up of a collection of community leaders and volunteers all working to try to keep downtown safe and welcoming around bar close.

From midnight to 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, members of CERT can be found setting up basketball hoops, making music videos, giving haircuts, and serving up food. Other CERT volunteers can be found playing chess or walking around the block engaging in conversation.

Co-founded by Police Community Liaison Bud Whitehorn and Pastor Andre Crockett earlier this summer, CERT has grown in numbers and support in recent months — with goals to break down racial divides and build a relationship between the BIPOC community and local law enforcement.

“We want to walk side-by-side with the officers and help them engage with the community to create more positive interactions,” said Whitehorn.

Call for action

The need for an organization like CERT was fully realized after the murder of Todd Banks Jr. in early June. Banks was fatally shot during an argument at the corner of 1st Avenue and 3rd Street SW; one other person was critically injured.

Whitehorn said he felt the impact of the incident first-hand.

“I was out there patrolling by myself, engaging with the community the night he was murdered,” he said. “I left 15 minutes before that happened.”

At that moment, Whitehorn knew he needed to form a team, CERT, as an extension of his position. Less than a week later, Whitehorn and Crockett had gathered a group of community leaders and other individuals they believed could have a positive influence downtown.

“When I accepted the position as community liaison (earlier this year), I knew it was going to take more than just me to accomplish these things,” said Whitehorn. “We need a community effort.”

A model for the future

While other CERT initiatives have been organized across the country, one aspect that makes the Rochester program particularly approachable is the programming — with volunteers leading various activities.

It’s a layout that came from a playground, of all places, Crockett says.

“I created ‘Playground All-Stars’ which was designed to deal with the disparities within the elementary schools,” said Crockett. “I found that most of the write-ups were happening on the playground, so I set up stations like flag football, basketball and tag, all around. We had college kids stationed there and that allowed the kids to be engaged in an activity.”

The stations worked — on the days “Playground All-Stars” was implemented, write-ups went down 40 percent, Crockett says.

Now as CERT works to translate that same success to downtown Rochester, Police Chief Jim Franklin sees an opportunity to model the idea elsewhere.

“With a focus on public safety, CERT volunteers have facilitated positive interactions with the community, particularly in the downtown area on weekends,” said Franklin. “CERT has served as a liaison between police and community members who may have been reluctant to engage with law enforcement.

“Our hope is to expand CERT into neighborhoods and high density housing that traditionally have had a greater need for resources. CERT will identify leaders living in these areas to be a bridge to a variety of services that are desperately needed and to mediate low-level disputes.”

More information on CERT - Rochester, MN can be found here.

Haley Handelman is a summer news intern for Med City Beat. A graduate of Mayo High School, she now studies at Northwestern University.

Cover photo used with permission from CERT