Dark alleys and doorways in Baltimore City neighborhoods may be a little brighter with the help of hundreds of solar-powered lights.
The nearly 1,150 solar sensors, which were to be distributed Tuesday night during the National Night Out events, will shine from dusk until dawn in an effort to make residents feel a bit safer, officials said.
The sensors were purchased with funds raised from the 2007 St. Joseph Medical Center 9/11 Run to Remember, which benefits the Baltimore police and fire departments.
“They were looking for some kind of lower-cost security system where they could spread the net wide and touch a lot of people,” said Josh Levinson, owner of Charm City Run, which hosts the run each year.
The sensors screw into any outdoor light socket as an attachment that powers a bulb automatically with solar energy, said Vivienne Stearns-Elliott, spokeswoman for St. Joseph Medical Center.
Since 2002, the Run to Remember has raised more than $150,000 to purchase items such as defibrillators and a new K-9 unit police dog, Levinson said.
“This is one of the best end uses we have been involved in,” Levinson said of this year’s purchase, which he said reflected city officials’ push for a visible police involvement in the community.
Dozens of Baltimore communities celebrate National Night Out events each year, and Mayor Sheila Dixon was planning on stopping by seven events Tuesday night.
The national crime prevention event, sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch, is held in more than 10,000 communities.
“It’s an opportunity for people to get out in their neighborhoods, interact not only with police officers but also with other people who live there,” said Dixon’s spokesman, Sterling Clifford.
“This is really critical as we continue to make gains in public safety that people feel confident in their neighbors and police.”
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