Centro CHA organizer Jessica Quintana and her family
With a political rhetoric of violence around the country, the National Night Out on Aug. 6, was a welcomed event for Long Beach residents. The event brought neighbors closer and helped educate youth on safety and police interaction.
After the past two mass shootings that occurred just days before the gathering, it was refreshing to see everyone having a good time. No talk of a divisive nation, no fear of getting shot. Just people living their lives and helping others.
“I didn’t expect so many kids,” said David McGill, who attended local Night Out event at Admiral Kidd Park in Long Beach. “With all this shit happening in the news right now, I didn’t think this would be a family thing.”
Some of the other booths included fingerpainting, free condoms for teenagers and a bouncy house. Unfortunately, the police were able to make a friendly appearance, but left rather quickly. I was told that the police were rather spread as they had to make multiple stops to gatherings throughout the evening.
National Night Out started in 1984, in an attempt to promote neighborhood camaraderie. At the time, only 400 communities participated in 23 states. Now, the event spans across all 50 states and 16,000 communities.
“It’s important to have gatherings like this,” said Jessica Quintana, the director of the non-profit organization Centro CHA, which hosted the Admiral Kidd Park event. “I feel like we don’t get as much media coverage as before, and I don’t know why that is.”
Centro CHA is nonprofit that works toward services to improve the socio-economic development of low-income families in Long Beach. The event included informational booths, educational activities and even face painting for children.
Sandy Annino of the Long Beach Job Corps Center, was among the people promoting services for the community. The government-funded program gives career options. Some of the career paths that the program provides include nursing, government relations and community services.
“We focus on young people from 16 to 24 and introduce them to programs they would enjoy,” Annino said. “If they didn’t complete high school, we help them do that. If they have a career in mind, we help them do that too.”
Annino actually informed me that usually Admiral Kidd Park usually isn’t a place that is considered safe, as she tells me the place can be rather sketchy around night time.
According to the City of Long Beach’s crime statistics, violent crimes have been on a small but steady increase ever since 2014. Murder, grand theft auto, and aggrivated assault are just some of the major crimes on the rise that are showcased.
Erik Miller, the executive director of Playa Vista Job Opportunities was also there offering jobs, mostly construction-related jobs.
“I’m continually being an advocate for at-risk communities,” Miller said, “I feel like the main focus of [Night Out] is to heighten awareness for communities. Once you get in a tight spot it can be tough to get out for a lot of people.”
After the celebration was all said and done I asked Centro CHA if they had any plans for the future, and how they felt about the event. A representative,Yaquelin Sucup replied to me in an email.
“This years National Night Out was definitely a success,” she said, “Having community members come out and engage with their local Police Department, Fire Department, and Long Beach Parks and Recreation is a great achievement for West-Long Beach 5th Annual National Night Out.”