ANNAPOLIS, Md. — It's estimated 4 million people a year visit Annapolis. To make them feel at home, the state gave our capital city a grant to improve safety.
The city on the bay now has "Annapolis Ambassadors." Three people on duty on weekends from the afternoon into the evenings, patrolling the downtown corridor.
"They carry walking maps of the town and they carry a parking brochure. If you don't have the app installed on your phone for parking, they help a lot of people install the app just to make their visit more pleasant," said Erik Evans, Executive Director of the Downtown Annapolis Partnership.
"So Annapolis is alive and bustling," added Constance Polamalu.
Polamalu is the Chief Operating Officer for Zachary's Jewelers. They are right downtown at the bottom of Main Street.
"I have seen them do everything from helping people with directions and we have a lot of new things happening here in Annapolis. So even if people have been here before, they might not know where to go or where to park," said Polamalu.
As police agencies are pushed to the max around our state, having an "ambassador" like this can free police up for more pressing issues. Ambassadors can possible help alleviate the problem.
"And just say "hey guys quiet down or calm down a bit" and that can be enough to diffuse the situation so you don't have to call the police," said Evans.
Fall is heading here but that does not mean the crowds are not here. Annapolis stays busy all throughout the winter.
In the four weeks they've done this, they've already gained some positive feedback.
"The businesses are enjoying having people being able to give directions. The visitors loving having an extra person out there to protect them," said Evans.
It's not just those from out of town the ambassadors help. They can give assistance to those in the community that may need resources.
"They've been successful in getting one homeless person off the streets. They've requested assistance and they were able to get him services he needed," said Evans.
This program will run throughout the spring.
