COLUMBUS, Ohio — The City of Columbus is working to address the crime issue with the help of Tuesday’s National Night Out. It's an annual event where communities around the country gather together with law enforcement and community leaders.
Andreona Gregory, a mother of two in the Hilltop community, will be participating in National Night Out.
"I think this is something good just for kids to be honest, kids are very fearful of the police. This is an opportunity for them to meet the police, be up close and personal with them, this is something out of their comfort zone,” she said.
Gregory said she tries to be a good mentor at home and at work for her company. They work to provide work and better opportunities for their community of Franklinton.
“We aim to make lives better by providing work and better opportunities for those who live in our community and Franklinton National Night Out happens to be a fantastic location for us to be more visible, let community members know we're here and recruit them,” says Marketing Manager of Fortuity Mari Floyd.
Whitehall Police Sgt. John Earl said this is his favorite day of the year.
“[National Night Out] gets police, law enforcement and the community together to interact in ways they don't normally interact. We have a lot of fun events going on such as bounce houses, free food, lots of giveaways and different law enforcement agencies around franklin county,” said Sgt. Earl.
Columbus City Councilmember Emmanuel Remy said there's a deeper opportunity for connection.
“Anytime we have the opportunity to get the safety message out, it's a good opportunity. We're going to talk to people about locking up their guns. We have gun locks that we can hand out, We certainly do not want people to resort to gun violence, so whenever we can spread that word, that's what it's all about,” Remy said.