New program aims to combat gun violence by giving Garden Hills residents lights, video doorbells
Former Champaign City Council Member Clarissa Nickerson Fourman stands on Hedge Road in the Garden Hills neighborhood in 2019. This spring, Garden Hills residents will be able to sign up to have safety features installed at their homes. Jim Meadows, Illinois Newsroom
The Champaign City Council is introducing a safety lighting program to benefit its Garden Hills neighborhood, a community in the city’s north end that has experienced issues involving its drainage, sidewalks and lack of lighting.
The program—known by its acronym, SLEEP—is a modified version of a previous program launched in 2019, said neighborhood programs manager Jennifer Carlson.
Carlson said there are concerns about safety in Garden Hills regarding crime and gun violence, so the program is meant to light up the neighborhood and hopefully make it safer for residents.
“This program specifically helps to light up around people's homes and provide a video doorbell camera to each of the households at no cost to help maybe prevent a crime from happening or be able to recognize what one has and share that footage,” she said.
The program will provide entry point lights and video doorbells to about 900 homes in Garden Hills. These entry point lights will be installed on a house’s exterior, including at its front, back and garage doors.
She said the modified program has an easier enrollment process than the previous program.
To be eligible for the program, a property must be located within the boundaries of the Garden Hills neighborhood and be a single-family home or duplex, Carlson said.