BALTIMORE — The tragedy of Jeremiah Brogden, the Mervo high school football player who was shot and killed on school grounds, has sparked a need for immediate change.
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Mervo is asking for volunteers to be a part of a community watch to keep a close eye on students coming to and from school.
A minimum of 60 participants are needed to begin the community watch. Members won't engage with students or put themselves in danger.
Instead, participants are asked to blend in, whether it's driving around the building, walking their dog, or sitting on their front porch during school hours, volunteers will be trained on what to look out for and will be provided a special number to call if they see something strange.
"They're not full time. That's why we need that amount according to our trainer in order to really cover the bases, and we have flex time so, sometimes it's before school so if you go into work, you do an hour, or maybe you do after school," said Tricia Lawrence, Principal of Mervo High School.
Volunteers can choose what shift works best for them, school officials only ask that you remain consistent.
"Anything that's going to help the children, I would want to be apart of. Anything that's going to help the community I would want to be apart of," said Nicole Barbera, Baltimore resident.
Barbera, has lived near Mervo for years and she mourned every time there was an unfortunate incident at the school. She says nowadays, too many kids are outliving their parents and she thinks a community watch like this can help make a difference.
"We should all look out for one another, pray for one another because we are all connected in one way or another, you know, we can't just educate and pray for our own children," said Barbera.
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Others agree the community watch can be a great thing, but parents like Amadi Torbit hope children will understand that violence is never the answer.
"Just try to stay in school, stay out of trouble, and just keep a good frame of mind because it's easy to get in trouble but it's hard to get out of trouble. So, I think the community watch would help out a lot," said Torbit.
"It's really about Mervo healing again and part of that healing process is putting forth really just a strategy that will make students and staff feel safer," said Lawrence.
Click here to volunteer.
