CLEVELAND — As part of Cleveland’s plan to “Reimagine Downtown,” the city has partnered with Downtown Cleveland, Inc. to hire 20 more safety ambassadors.
Those are individuals trained in de-escalation and security who patrol downtown to make people feel safer.
One of those ambassadors is Christopher Dorsey, a lifelong Cleveland resident who loves meeting new people.
“Don’t get me wrong, they want someone with a security background, but it’s more so a hospitality type-thing,” Dorsey said. “So, you’re converting on a day-to-day basis, getting to know people on a day-to-day basis, hearing a lot of stories on a day-to-day basis.”
His role is primarily about keeping the community safe, but it’s also about welcoming people downtown, something Dorsey is a natural at.
He said he does occasionally have to intervene in situations he thinks could become dangerous.
“There might be an issue or two throughout the day,” he said. “For the most part, if you build those relationships with people, cause nine times out of ten, it’ll be that same person, you can just have a quick conversation with them and everything will calm down and everyone will have a good day after that.”
The ambassadors are on the streets downtown from 7 a.m. until midnight Sunday through Wednesday, and 7 a.m. to 3 a.m. Thursday through Saturday.
They don’t carry weapons — just a walkie-talkie, a tablet to keep track of the interactions they have, a first aid kid and their cellphone.
Still, Dorsey said he’s never felt unsafe or unequipped to handle a situation he’s come across.
He said some people confuse the safety ambassadors for police officers, and while that’s not their role, they are trained to work with police to handle situations if they become dangerous.
“We’re not out here to make it look like we’re officers or anything like that, cause that can come off with us sometimes,” Dorsey said. “We’re actually here to be a helping hand to the community.”
That means anything from pushing scooters out of the way of pedestrians on the sidewalk to responding to dispatches to escort people from one part of downtown to another.
But what Dorsey said he loves most about the job is the impact he feels from talking to new people.
“You’ll be surprised to where you’ll say hello to someone and maybe it’ll spark a quick five, ten-minute conversation that you never know if somebody needs,” Dorsey said.
Downtown Cleveland, Inc. is in the process of hiring the 20 new safety ambassadors, so they should be on the streets in the coming weeks.
The organization hires clean and hospitality ambassadors as well, who work to beautify and welcome people downtown.
If you are downtown during the hours ambassadors are working, you can request an escort for any reason by calling 216-621-6000.
