Classen-Ten-Penn NA

Classen-Ten-Penn SafeHaven Grand Opening

Nov 06, 2006

October 31st, 2006 at 1911 N. Classen Blvd, the official ribbon-cutting for the new Weed & Seed SafeHaven was held. In attendance were city officials, local law enforcement, FBI, DEA, and of course the people who make the difference everyday?…. Residents of our neighborhood. The newly renovated facility has a police store front and will house a variety of social services. Some of the services will include ESL classes, a clinic, Gang Prevention Programs such as Martial Arts, and more. Additional services will be determined at upcoming meetings (see page 3).
Ed Martin, the Project Coordinator, mentioned that ideally the center would have been named in recognition of David Pekah, but that the family could not be found for permission. David Pekah, as you may remember, was a 9 year old boy who lived on the corner of 12th and Mckinley. One night as he lay sleeping in the living room of his home, gunshots rang out from a drive by shooting and killed him. A vigil was held in McKinley park days later where neighbors mourned the loss of this child. Classmates at Eugene Field remembered him as a bright-eye and genuinely nice kid. David had signed a petition that some other children had written not one year before his death asking for help from officials to rid the neighborhood of the violence and crime. A plaque will be hung at the entrance of the SafeHaven in honor of David?…. Reminding all who enter that our children are worth the work being done there.

Natalie Siharath