A Concerned Citizen Improves His Community with Home Security Systems

The city of Baltimore, Maryland today is known as one of the most dangerous, crime-infested cities in North America. The total metro area is home to more than 2.7 million people, with the actual city comprising some 650,000 inhabitants. It was one of the first large cities in the United States, the first city outside of New York City to reach the population mark of 100,000. Today, however, it is among the top American cities in number of homicides, and one of the highest in total crime.

Carl has lived in Baltimore his entire life. He and his wife of 30 years have raised five children and are the proud grandparents of two granddaughters. The entire family lives within 15 minutes of each other, all in Baltimore or surrounding suburbs. Carl coached his son's baseball teams, worked as a referee for the high school basketball league, and served as President of his neighborhood's watch program for three consecutive terms. Carl has always been involved in his community. It began out of necessity and developed into a life's passion.

Carl was raised in a one-parent home in the middle of one of Baltimore's toughest neighborhoods. Two of his closest friends were killed growing up, one when they were only 12 years old. His other good friend was murdered by a gang the day after they graduated from college. Out of necessity, Carl developed into a tough-skinned young man who was determined to protect those he loved. Carl always wanted to get out of the city. Yet, once he got married and started having children, he also wanted to stay close to his mother. He wanted her to enjoy her family and grandchildren. So he and his wife stayed.

Recently, Carl decided to help out his neighborhood, particularly the elderly and underprivileged. It started when he and his mother decided to add certain security measures to her home. He got the idea that he could assist his neighbors in making the necessary upgrades to their own front and backdoors, locks, windows, lighting, and overall community atmosphere. Knowing that home security was the first step in battling crime, Carl wanted to empower his neighbors to fight for their neighborhood. Giving them the tools and knowledge to make their homes safer hopefully would lead to a community that looked out for each other.

Carl started by speaking with the neighbors he knew well. He talked a handful into upgrading their front and backdoors. Many could not afford replacing the doors, but they could afford new dead bolts and longer screws to secure the doorframe to the wall studs more firmly. Some neighbors even decided to install home alarm systems. It was so successful with his friends that Carl decided to start an organization that would raise money to help pay for the upgrades for those who could not afford them. Carl believed that a good home security system was the first barrier against robbery. He therefore devoted the organization to raising money for home alarm systems. The organization conducted fundraisers, cookouts, and auctions to raise money that would go toward purchasing them. In the process, the events created a sense of community among the neighbors as they worked together to ensure safety to its least capable members.

Today, Carl continues to head the organization, which has to-date raised enough money to install over 350 home security systems in his neighborhood. In the process, he has expanded its scope to include two more neighborhoods that border his own. He figures that they still need over 2,000 more alarm systems to complete the work. After that, perhaps the rest of Baltimore will benefit from Carl's work.

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