Pubdate: Mon, 01 Apr 2002 Source: Hartford Courant (CT) Copyright: 2002 The Hartford Courant Contact: http://www.ctnow.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/183 Author: Rick Green Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?1043 (Christianity) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/racial.htm (Racial Issues) CAMPERS BRING HOPE TO STREETS After two nights sleeping in a tent pitched near the corner of Mather and Brooks streets, Hartford activists said Sunday they will soon return to other drug-infested city neighborhoods. "We are going to make sure the criminal element in this city gets the message," said the Rev. Cornell Lewis, who, along with leaders from the Hartford chapter of the NAACP and others, spent Friday and Saturday nights camping along sidewalks. "People are not going to roll over and play dead." The group had an eventful weekend, Lewis said. During their nights on the street, campers shined powerful spotlights on suspected drug dealers and their customers, held a 7 a.m. Easter worship service and received unexpected visitors - such as interim City Manager Albert G. Ilg and a woman who brought muffins and coffee. The activists were joined during the nights by a city council member, representatives from the American Friends Service Committee, and Thirman Milner, former mayor and Hartford NAACP president. "It was a great experience on a lot of different levels," said city Councilman John Kennelly, who estimated he slept about an hour on the corner Saturday night. A police chase down Brooks Street in the middle of the night added to the drama, he said. "People who live in these neighborhoods, they are challenged every day by the crime around them," said Kennelly. "It was a beautiful way to start Easter Sunday." The urban camping will be expanded to other North End street corners during the coming months, said Lewis, who is working with the Rev. Michael Williams and others to arrange future campouts. The idea was to both scare off drug dealers and inspire local residents to retake their street corners and neighborhoods from criminals, he said. Already, Lewis said, drug dealers are upset, having sent word one evening to the campers that their presence was driving off customers. "Progress has been made. For a few days we pacified that area," Lewis said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jackl