{"id":4721,"date":"2024-08-23T20:28:01","date_gmt":"2024-08-23T20:28:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.blockbyblock.com\/?p=4721"},"modified":"2024-08-23T20:54:41","modified_gmt":"2024-08-23T20:54:41","slug":"new-ambassadors-program-helping-keep-downtown-safe-clean-for-community","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.blockbyblock.com\/news\/new-ambassadors-program-helping-keep-downtown-safe-clean-for-community\/","title":{"rendered":"New Ambassadors program helping keep downtown safe, clean for community"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article was shared from University of Iowa<\/a>\u00a0| Written by Office of Strategic Communication<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n

Those red shirts you keep seeing in downtown Iowa City represent a new program that enhances the safety and cleanliness of the area for community members, including University of Iowa faculty, staff, students, and families.<\/p>\n

The city of Iowa City and the Iowa City Downtown District partnered with Block by Block Management Systems to bring a new program, Downtown Iowa City Ambassadors, to the community in June. Courtesy of those individuals in the red shirts, the program provides ambassador, cleaning, and hospitality services to the downtown area, which Block by Block does for other communities across the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur purpose at the Iowa City Downtown District is to make the downtown a better place to live, work, and play, and we combined our resources with the city of Iowa City to keep doing that with Block by Block,\u201d says Joe Reilly, nighttime mayor for the Iowa City Downtown District.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Ambassador<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Block by Block and the Downtown District also have been working with the UI to ensure the program is helpful to students and their families, in part by introducing new safety measures.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe support the community but also UI students,\u201d says Adam Schweitzer, operations manager for Downtown Iowa City Ambassadors. \u201cWe want to create a clean, safe environment for the campus, and we want students and their families to patronize our downtown.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ambassadors work until midnight, and Schweitzer says the late-night shifts will be dedicated to making sure people get home safely. This includes letting students know about campus safety resources, such as how to call Nite Ride for a safe ride home or how to use the Rave Guardian app. Ambassadors also can connect people with the UI Police Department if needed. Ambassadors also act as \u201cafter hours escorts\u201d and can walk students back to their residence hall or apartment if it\u2019s close to downtown.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want students to know that if they see someone wearing a red Ambassadors shirt, that is someone they are safe with and someone who will help them,\u201d Schweitzer says.<\/p>\n

The new program also goes hand in hand with the UI\u2019s alcohol harm reduction plan to combat high-risk drinking.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a close relationship with the Iowa City Downtown District,\u201d says Tanya Villhauer, UI assistant dean of well-being and basic needs. \u201cWe recognize the value they bring to students, faculty, and staff, and we\u2019re intertwined. We\u2019re responsible for supporting downtown just as they support the university.\u201d<\/p>\n

As part of the alcohol harm reduction plan, Villhauer says UI had been focused on creating \u201cprotective environments\u201d to help keep students safe, such as working with the Downtown District to increase lighting. The Downtown Iowa City Ambassadors will play a big role in that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe ambassadors are going to be there to see what\u2019s going on, identify problems, and communicate back to us,\u201d Villhauer says. \u201cThis is a great opportunity for the university to help support students who may be in need when frequenting downtown. It\u2019s a multi-pronged approach using a lot of different strategies to help keep students safe, and Block by Block is supporting that strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to a safety role, Downtown Iowa City Ambassadors will prioritize keeping downtown Iowa City clean by providing trash removal, weed removal, graffiti removal, and street sweeping.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure there are multiple uses for each space,\u201d Schweitzer says. \u201cWe want people to have fun at night, but then get things cleaned up and ready for the kids playing at the playground and in the fountain the next day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ambassadors will also act as information guides during busy weekends on campus, such as commencement, football games, and Hawkeye visit days. This includes having a presence in parking ramps, both to answer questions and to make sure people walking through ramps \u2014 especially at night \u2014 arrive at their vehicles safely.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur ambassadors will be on the lookout for people who look like they need a map or have questions about where to go,\u201d Schweitzer says. \u201cIt\u2019s about offering those little services that make it feel more homey and not so intimidating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reilly says the ambassadors have already made a positive impact during the summer\u2019s big events, from the Block Party to the Jazz Festival.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe downtown district is always trying to elevate the experience for people down here, whether they\u2019re our visitors, students, or business owners,\u201d Reilly says. \u201cIn terms of cleanliness and safety, the ambassador program has already moved the needle.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article was shared from University of Iowa\u00a0| Written by Office of Strategic Communication Those red shirts you keep seeing in downtown Iowa City represent a new program that enhances the safety and cleanliness of the area for community members, including University of Iowa faculty, staff, students, and families. The city of Iowa City and …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":4722,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blockbyblock.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blockbyblock.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blockbyblock.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blockbyblock.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blockbyblock.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4721"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.blockbyblock.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4726,"href":"https:\/\/www.blockbyblock.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4721\/revisions\/4726"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blockbyblock.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.blockbyblock.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blockbyblock.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.blockbyblock.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}