After nearly 10-years of providing Alertizen free of charge to now over 35,000 citizens in Toledo and Northwest Ohio and many thousands more as many of our members share their alerts with family and friends, Alertizen will soon cease operations.
Alertizen was developed in 2012 after reading about a rape and stabbing in the Old Orchard neighborhood where residents were unaware this had happened and were very concerned for their safety.
The Block Watch leader and their city councilman called an emergency meeting with then chief of police Mike Navarre (now Lucas County Sherriff) to find out what could be done to keep them safe and aware of criminal activity in their neighborhood.
The newspaper reported:
"A common theme throughout the meeting was what residents could do to be proactive in protecting their property and to be vigilant in keeping the area safe. "
Chief Navarre advised: When in doubt, call 911 and use outdoor lighting.
We knew there had to be a better way to help residents to be proactive in protecting their property and vigilant in keeping the area safe and so Alertizen was born.
What started in the Old Orchard neighborhood as a pilot program was quickly requested by citizens in other neighborhoods throughout the city of Toledo and northwest Ohio. Membership grew, all by word-of-mouth, neighbors telling neighbors.
We the founders and developers (private citizens) while doing a good deed for our community, have now spent nearly 10-years of our time and expertise and countless dollars providing this free service to the citizens of Toledo and northwest Ohio.
In 2020 we asked Mayor Kapszukiewicz for $39,600 to cover expenses to keep Alertizen running.
Here was his reply via his Deputy Chief of Staff Karen Poore.
----- Original Message -----
From: Poore, Karen [mailto:Karen.Poore@toledo.oh.gov]
To: #msmith@alertizen.com#
Cc: "Emch, Dale"
Sent: Tue, 9 Jun 2020 22:10:09 0000
Subject: Alertizen Update
Dear Mr. Smith:
I am writing regarding your proposal that the City of Toledo contract with Alertizen to provide police and crime information to residents of the city who sign up for the service. While the application may provide a valuable service to your subscribers, this is not an expense the city will take on at this time. As you 're aware, municipalities around the country are experiencing severe financial shortfalls as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak. Toledo is no different, and we 've been forced to make numerous budget reductions.
Thank you for bringing this proposal to our attention, and I wish you well on your business venture.
Sincerely,
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We understood the financial dilemma the Mayor was under back in 2020 but had hoped that with the $180-million the city of Toledo has received through the American Rescue Plan Act, and the Mayor's stated focus of "safe and livable neighborhoods", he would have considered our previous request for financial assistance to keep Alertizen running in the neighborhoods where thousands of citizens are using Alertizen for their safety.
To be clear, we like the Mayor, we're just disappointed he didn't consider his constituents that rely on Alertizen daily for their personal safety and that of their family.
We would like to continue this free and valuable service for the community, but with no financial help from the City of Toledo or Lucas County, (we also spoke with Lucas County Commissioner Pete Gerkin) we can no longer continue to pay all the expenses to keep Alertizen running.
Sadly, Alertizen will shut down at the end of this year and will no longer be available to the thousands of citizens that have come to depend on Alertizen for their safety.
This was a very difficult decision for us because we know how much Alertizen means to our community.
Respectfully,
The Alertizen Team
Alertizen Members in Toledo, Ohio
