A Neighborhood Web Watcher Takes a Bite Out of Crime
Getting the word out, being an advocate, really is important to Cynthia Loesch, 20, a resident of Codman Square. That's why she was at last month's meeting of the Greater Bowdoin Geneva Neighborhood Association, briefing members on "e-lert," a new e-mail service that notifies residents in several Dorchester neighborhoods about recent local crimes.
One of those seated at the table at the Bowdoin Street Health Center had a question for Loesch. "You are not going to leave at the end of August, are you?" asked Peter Scolaro, director of the office of Action for Boston Community Development.
Loesch, a Boston College junior, was hired by the city, at $11 an hour, to implement the summer pilot program and to expand it to four sections of Dorchester.
But whether or not the city continues funding, one thing seems clear: Cynthia Loesch is not going to be leaving the arena anytime soon.
"It seems like she is almost born to lead," said state Representative Martin Walsh, a Dorchester Democrat whose district includes a portion of Codman Square.
"She's a talented, committed, dedicated young woman," said Walsh, who offered Loesch a full-time staff position in his office even though she is a full-time college student. (She declined the offer for that reason).
Loesch has been active in Codman Square since she was 14 years old, emulating her father, the Rev. Bill Loesch, a longtime neighborhood advocate who is the coordinator of the BOLD Teens program.
"I wouldn't want to be from any other neighborhood," Loesch said.
Loesch is currently president of the Codman Square Neighborhood Council, a post once held by her father, who is on the 11-member board of directors.
But it was her passionate, savvy leadership of a Codman Square teen anti-tobacco campaign that garnered notice.
Loesch today is coordinator of BOLD Teens Against Tobacco, and she is active in the campaign to ban the sale of cigarettes in the 02124 ZIP code area. Loesch will be meeting with Mayor Thomas M. Menino on Thursday, seeking his support, she said.
"You have to educate them and teach them," she says of adults in general. "Adults just do things differently. I guess we don't limit ourselves," she says of youth.
Loesch is an example of the value of connections in Dorchester. She completed an unpaid internship in the office of new state Representative Linda Dorcena Forry. Forry is married to Bill Forry, the editor of the weekly Dorchester Reporter newspaper.
Loesch doesn't fail to mention the BC ties, noting both Forrys are Eagles.
It was Bill Forry and the Codman Square Health Center director, Bill Walczak,
who began the e-lert for the Columbia-Savin Hill neighborhood, where Walczak
lives. Both Cynthia and her father work out of the Codman Square Health Center.
Forry and Walzcak recommended Loesch to oversee the pilot e-lert program and expand it into the areas of Bowdoin/Geneva; Ashmont Hill; Melville Park; and Codman Square west of Washington Street. It was also her responsibility to notify residents, and with the BOLD Teens she distributed fliers in the neighborhoods.
This is how the e-lert works: Loesch culls through police reports and lists what she calls "preventable crimes," including assaults, breaking and entering, and auto thefts. Each alert also includes crime prevention tips and information on where and how to report problems. Loesch also welcomes feedback: She is now including arrests, at the request of Melville Park residents.
"It's been very helpful," said Gail Granville, a longtime resident who has been active in crime watches.
"It sort of gives us an edge and reminds us we need to take certain safeguards."
The e-lert program is sponsored by the DotWell Health Services Partnership (a Dorchester House Multi-Service Center and Codman Square Health Center collaboration); the Dorchester Reporter; and the Boston Police Department.
There is no such thing as too much information, according to the listers.
Area C-11 Captain Frank Armstrong does not disagree. "It's a great way to disseminate information," Armstrong said of e-lert.
Armstrong, however, voices concern that residents will use e-mail and not 911 to communicate a crime or other emergency.
City Weekly,
Sunday, September 4, 2005