LORAIN — At least one Lorain resident says she’s fed up with crime and has called in reinforcements to take her city back.

Denise Caruloff has invited the Guardian Angels, a group that received national acclaim for working to rid crime from New York City neighborhoods in the early 1980s, to come speak with residents Thursday and decide whether they will come do for Lorain what they’ve done for dozens of cities across the world.

Caruloff said she and the group’s regional director, Aaron Brilbeck, had the meeting planned about two months ago, and in light of the city seeing three shootings in as many days —all of which occurred blocks from Caruloff’s house — getting the Angels here can’t happen soon enough.

“It reaffirms exactly what’s been underlying in this city,” she said. “(The shootings) didn’t just come out of nowhere and people decided to kill each other. I’m sure there was a buildup and there were tensions and dynamics to where it came to a head. I don’t know how we’re going to make a change, but we had to do something.”

About three or four members of the Guardian Angels chapters in Toledo and Cleveland will visit with residents at 6 p.m. at Lorain Parks and Recreation, 329 W. 10th St.

Brilbeck, who is in charge of the chapters from Detroit to Cleveland, said the group’s mission is to get the community involved and teach them not only to take pride in their neighborhoods, but what to watch out for and what to do if they see something.

“If people think we’re going to come in from New York like gangbusters, that’s not going to happen,” Brilbeck said. “The bulk of what we do is recruit new Guardian Angels so they can protect their own neighborhood.”

Brilbeck said the members will first sit down with police, politicians and residents to see whether their services are needed. If a large number of people want to start a chapter, the Cleveland chapter will spearhead the recruitment process and the formation of a Lorain chapter, acting almost like a neighborhood watch.

Recruits are vetted through background checks and with assistance from police and are given a three-month training period where they learn martial arts, what the laws are, how to calm people down and what to do in certain situations. They do not carry weapons and work closely with law enforcement.

Contact Adam Wright at 329-7129 or awright@chroniclet.com.

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