‘Why I Started the Ocean Beach Neighborhood Watch ‘

Photo credit: Nicole Ueno, San Diego Reader

Strength in Community: OB Joins Together to Fight Crime

By Nicole Ueno

Living in the same town you were raised in is a funny thing. Nostalgia is woven through each day, whether it’s walking down the same concrete stairs at my daughter’s school, or passing by what used to be an empty dirt lot where as kids we’d ride bikes and eat popsicles bought at the corner liquor store.

I’m one of the lucky ones that got to grow up in the beautiful and unique community that is Ocean Beach. It’s been such a huge part of my life story- from my childhood spent at the Big Olaf ice cream store, to working several jobs on Newport during my teens and twenties, meeting my husband in our favorite coffee shop, Jungle Java, and now raising our family here. I appreciate OB for all that it is and all that it’s given me.

When I learned of the opportunity to serve the community on the Board of the OB Town Council, I jumped at it, and it has truly shown me how involved and engaged our town is, how neighbors come together to help each other out, and how our small-town feel is really bolstered by community participation in events like the Farmer’s Market and the Holiday Parade.

Last year I started a non-profit group called the OB Families Association, which aims to support strong families in OB by putting on fun family events and workshops. We generally help support a local cause at these events, whether through collecting Mother’s Day gifts for the women’s shelter, or donating to an organization for families of wounded veterans. It’s a great way to see again first hand how caring and amazing our locals are. More events are in the works for Spring of 2018 – we’ll be hosting a series of positive parenting workshops and teaming up with the Peninsula Monarch project to plant milkweed around town in an effort to support the declining Western Monarch populations.

From sunsets to great surf to cool neighbors, there are just about a million things to be stoked on in OB. I often wonder if people in other areas feel as passionately about their community as OBceans do. Everyone I know that has ever lived in OB and then left, has left a little piece of their heart in OB as well.

But the OB that my East Coast friends hold in their fond memories is not the OB of today. The crime and general nastiness in OB has grown.

I know it’s part of our history and reputation. I have always been secretly proud of the fact that I can generally take care of myself in tough situations. I hear from a lot of people that OB’s problems used to be way worse back in the day. And that’s likely true, only in a different way.

Here’s the thing –  maybe things used to be worse, but I don’t remember it that way. I remember not feeling as afraid to walk at night. To not get yelled at for not handing out cigarettes or money. To not have people sleeping in every alley carport. To not constantly be looking at the ground to make sure I don’t step on broken glass or any other unappealing objects. When I was a child, I very rarely wore shoes during the summer months. There’s no way I’d let my kids run around barefoot on Newport or Abbott today.

So, what can we do?

I recently started the OB Neighborhood Watch (OBNW). The plan was to cover all of OB, through dividing it up to zones and having members spread out throughout each zone. We added a zone covering most of Point Loma as well, and are eager to build a closer partnership with our Peninsula neighbors.

What OBNW is about is protecting our town from those that don’t respect it. Engaging the community so we can all work together. Being vigilant and aware of crime in your area. Sharing information to keep people safer. Organizing to get more resources for our neighborhoods. If there’s a violent situation, and someone needs help, there are those who will step up and help. This is not grandma’s neighborhood watch, this is OB taking care of our own. That is essentially the manifesto for this group.

Over the next month we’ll be holding initial zone meetings and getting to know the people in our area. Neighborhood watch signs will go up, and we are looking at getting more street lights installed. One member came up with the idea of hosting CPR/First aid certification training, stemming from an incident in which she was able to save her husband with her CPR knowledge. We’ll also be checking out self-defense classes and building a closer working relationship with SDPD.

But overarching all of these things is the basic premise of getting to know your neighbors, making personal connections, and looking out for each other.

The response to the OB Neighborhood Watch has been overwhelmingly positive. There are a lot of people that are fired up about making our community a better, safer place to live. There are good things on the horizon, and I’m looking forward to working together alongside my community to fight crime in Ocean Beach.

To borrow from my favorite motto ever by CSI-OB: Cleaner Streets Initiative … We’re not talking Disneyland, just a little bit safer.