Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Monday was the first day the Buffalo and Erie County Library reverted back to their normal afternoon hours as well as the first day for the Buffalo Peacemakers inside the library, who have come to keep a watchful eye on the youth.
Pastor Tim Newkirk, supervisor and coordinator of the Buffalo Peacemakers, tells WBEN that just the presence of the Peacemakers in the library alone is a deterrent from keeping the kids from thinking about starting an altercation.
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"When they see us, they already have a level of respect for us, because we are an asset to them as well. We don't want to see anybody getting hurt, and we don't want to see anybody falling into a harmful situation where it calls for law enforcement or calls for security at anytime."
For the library, it's the extra set of eyes and the familiarity with the youth that they hope will make all the difference in addressing the altercations that have been occurring over the last couple of months.
"Our security staff did a fantastic job, just with the size of this building. But they're just so many of the kids. Having the peacemakers here, there's extra people, but there's the added advantage of them knowing the kids," said Dan Caufiled, Library Manager of Information Services and Outreach.
Caufield says that the Peacemakers bring mentorship and not an overwhelmingly authoritative presence contrary to a law enforcement presence.
Newkirk says one of the most important elements in diffusing altercations is by simply identifying what the issues are that the students have.
"They're angry, and they have a lot of energy and aggression. But when you begin to take control over the situation, you become a problem solver. We want to be a problem solver to the kids, because some things can be dissolved just by finding out if there's a right or there's a wrong and just hold them accountable for what actually took place. A lot of times when fights erupt, there's usually a level of disrespect or misunderstanding. We're trained and we're educated in listening to find out what happened and how can we fix it."
For all parties involved, the library, the Peacemakers, law enforcement and ideally, the youth, it's not about deterring the students from coming to the library. It's about turning a negative situation into a positive one by bringing more programs to the kids and offering a listening ear to optimize the functionality of the library as well as provide a space that is safe for learning.
"We do after school activities with the teens every day of the week, but the Peacemakers will also be doing some activities with the teens. And I think that will really help us expand and be able to have more to offer them," said Maria Lowe, the Teen Services Librarian at the library.
"We're going to be bringing guest speakers, we're going to be bringing people to educate them, and also offering employment, you know, offering opportunity. So this is a definitely a collaboration of great minds thinking together to resolve a problem.
We're all here for them. We're all here to benefit them to benefit the library, and show them the rich necessities that the library possesses. Because, again, we don't want anyone feeling left out," said Pastor Newkirk.
While the pastor notes fights are inevitable and some students acknowledging that fights are going to happen elsewhere if they aren't happening in the library, the goal of preserving the library and what it offers is a goal that the can be achieved with the presence of the Peacemakers.
For students who attend school in Buffalo, some students told me that it was a pretty common occurrence to see fights outside school and around the city, but not in the library, even though one student I talked to witnessed the aftermath of the final altercation of the library that prompted the library to take action.
Students at the library also mentioned that they come to library because it's a quiet place to get work done and they have fun activities for them to do as well.
They believe the Peacemakers will be a presence that will make them safer.
"I feel like people will be less likely to come here for the flights. They'd be like 'Oh, like they have those people there now. So like, we can't go there or we'll be kicked out," said Grace Lukasiewicz, 10th grader from Buffalo Academy of Science.
"Yeah. And I feel like we'd be safer," her friend Suni mentioned.
The Buffalo Peacemakers will be in the library for the foreseeable future, every weekday from 2 p.m. to close.