Mayor Doug Palmer and PeaceKeepers founder Dennis Muhammad announced a new anti-violence program to prevent violence in Trenton’s troubled neighborhoods.
Peacekeepers program
Palmer and Muhammad recruited dozens of Trenton men at the April 10th Stop The Violence Peace Rally organized after the gang rape of a 7-year-old Trenton girl.
Police say the 7-year-old was prostituted out by her 15-year-old stepsister, who watched as the youngster was raped by as many as seven men and boys at a party in a vacant Rowan Towers apartment in Trenton on March 28.
Investigators said as many as a dozen people were at the party in the crime-plagued public housing complex a mile away from the dome of the New Jersey statehouse.
Authorities arrested the 15-year-old stepsister, Leary, 20, Tiemare Lewis, 19, and his 17-year-old cousin, and two boys ages 13 and 14.
At the rally, Russell Simmons talked about the PeaceKeepers and how he will financially support the jump-start of the program.
Muhammad stated the PeaceKeepers can serve as auxiliary police in troubled neighborhoods when residents feel at odds with local law enforcement.
Peace Keeper recruits will be trained in CPR, first aid and self-defense. They will also participate in a “people skills” seminar that will give non-confrontational techniques for approaching people. Those who complete the program will be issued ID cards and orange apparel, the official color of the Peace Keepers.
The men are then expected to serve for one hour each week on the streets and connect with youths in communities prone to violence.
Currently there are PeaceKeepers chapters in Jersey City, NJ, New York City, and Wilmington, DE.
