What’s New in Clean, Safe, & Welcoming

The Downtown Cleveland Alliance is constantly adapting to meet the ever-changing needs of the city. Specifically, The Clean, Safe, and Welcoming program is always looking to evolve in order to exceed the expectations of residents, workers, and visitors.

DCA will open a Clean and Safe Co-Deployment center in Tower City this fall, which will have resources more readily available and accessible to the public, safety specialists, and ambassadors. This central location will create a timelier response to pedestrian needs, increase visibility and awareness of The Clean and Safe Program, and highlight DCA’s new Neighborhood Safety Specialist position.

The position of late-night Neighborhood Safety Specialist (NSS) has been added to improvement efforts, acting as an additional branch of resources offered by DCA’s flagship program. These specialists are trained to de-escalate aggressive behavior and are assisted by safety ambassadors who are responsible for reporting such situations. The launch of this new position demonstrates DCA’s pivot from off-duty officers to a more engaged approach. This branch of specialists was launched on July 1st, 2022, and has been deployed out of The Warehouse District and East 4th St., as these two locations have high late-night traffic and an increased need for safety services. We continue to recruit candidates, specifically those with a background in security and hospitality background and who possess strong verbal communication skills.

With specialists documenting all interactions, the addition of this position allows for increased engagement thus helping enhance the environment, increase safety, and create a positive pedestrian experience in the Downtown area. This information will help drive our operational plans going forward. So far, we have had remarkable results with this position, and are looking forward to increasing its visibility in the program.

Additionally, as the Clean and Safe Program expands through new avenues and opportunities, the need for functional and accessible equipment increases as well. Due to this demand, The Downtown Cleveland Alliance has invested significant funding into the purchase, rehabilitation, or replacement of equipment throughout 2022. Equipment and tools include new utility vehicles, bobcats, sprayer machines, and street vehicles. This expansion of equipment and resources will help DCA increase the quantity and efficiency of our staple Clean and Safe efforts such as safety escorts, public space beautification, and maintenance.

With the new NSS position, co-deployment center, and equipment upgrade, The Clean, Safe, and Welcoming Program will be able to assist the Downtown city population in a timelier manner as well as provide a more constant presence. These improvements encourage the narrative of an efficient, strong, and unified Downtown Cleveland.