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| Last updated on August 11, 2008 |
The mission of RightRides For Women's Safety is building safer communities by reducing the risk of harassment and sexual assault. We accomplish this by community organizing, offering direct service programs, plus fostering greater safety awareness and individual empowerment in our related educational programs.
Description:
Our central program, RightRides, offers women, transpeople and gender queer individuals a free, late-night ride home to insure their safe commute to or through high-risk areas.
We recently launched a Safe Walk program during the warmer months for any one who doesn't want to walk alone.
Our related educational programs include self-defense classes and neighborhood safety meetings featuring local leaders in crime prevention.
RightRides For Women's Safety is dedicated to empowering and educating people of all ages and backgrounds to value their personal safety to reduce their risk of harassment and assault.
History:
The primary program, RightRides, was founded in August 2004 in direct response to a increase in assaults on women walking home alone late at night in Williamsburg and Greenpoint in North Brooklyn.
The founders believed that by offering a free ride home, the risk of sexual assault would decrease. They got a cell phone for use as a dispatch phone, printed flyers and using their own vehicle, started driving riders home.
Since becoming operational in early September 2004, the RightRides program has now driven over 500 riders home every Saturday night from Midnight - 3 AM (Sunday morning). In 2004-2005, RightRides organized volunteers owning their own cars to make the service possible.
In 2004-2005 despite ongoing outreach efforts, finding dedicated volunteers owning cars proved to be too difficult, as changes in vehicle reliability or volunteer's schedules severely decreased the number of available cars and drivers. Also, many potential volunteers approached RightRides about driving, but did not personally own a car.
Concurrently, there was growing demand to expand RightRides by adding nights and neighborhoods with higher assault rates, lower-income residents and limited public transportation.
With fewer vehicles and drivers than could meet demand, coupled with a limited initial service area of just 3 neighborhoods, RightRides was unable to accommodate 50% of requests for a ride home.
RightRides entered into an agreement with Zipcar in May 2006 securing a fleet of 3 cars for volunteers to drive. RightRides resumed service on June 3rd and also expanded the service area to include 19 NYC neighborhoods. As of July 2007 we are now serving 35 neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx.
Volunteers operate the service in teams of two (a driver and a navigator – one of whom must be female) and the team waits to make sure the rider is safely inside their building before driving away. No cash is accepted in the car, not even tips.
Our long term goals include fostering affiliate RightRides chapters in other cities that show a need for the free, safe, late night ride home service. This is possible with local volunteer interest and community support!
Other programs we organize include free Safe Walk program for those who wish to have a safe walking escort to their destinations and Neighborhood Safety Meetings. These meetings feature a panel of local leaders in crime prevention who discuss street safety, crime trends, offer resources and answer questions the public may have.
More information can be found at http://www.rightrides.org
Contact person: Erin Armstrong, Program Manager, (718) 522-0822, (email)
Address:
 |
26 Court Street Ste. 505
Brooklyn, NY 11242
(See a map) |
Web Site: http://www.RightRides.org
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