The Dignity Project works to bridge gap between police and community

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCBD) — It’s been five years since ‘The Dignity Project’ was formed in Summerville as a group designed to build trust and respect between community members and police officers.

Formed after the 2020 demonstrations for George Floyd, The Dignity Project aims to bridge the gap between police and the community.

The Dignity Project is a diverse group of Summerville citizens and police that have difficult conversations aimed at creating change and understanding.

“The only way we can resolve or solve the relationships with law enforcement is we have to come together and talk and listen to one another,” said James Young, a founding member of The Dignity Project.

In the last five years, The Dignity Project has put forward many initiatives: they host community forums giving police and community members a chance to talk.

They teach the 3 C’s: calmness, cooperation, and compromise to diffuse police interactions. They give drivers folders to hold important documents, making traffic stops go more smoothly and they spend time in churches across Summerville to encourage good relationships between citizens and police.

“The more we can educate the public, the public will in turn educate us,” said Dr. Hester Young, a founding member of The Dignity Project.

Their goal moving forward is to get families and young people in Summerville involved in the program.

“The younger generation is now having an opportunity to interact with law enforcement and seeing them differently. For us that is the key. We want families, those 8, 9, 10-year-olds to come in and see that officer is no one to fear,” said James Young.

Police encourage people to get involved saying they can’t do their job alone.

“It’s about building trust within the community. We need help, we can’t do this by ourselves. There are a lot of voices in the community, in the past there’s been a lot of negativities with the police, well we’re inviting you in, let’s talk about this,” said Summerville Deputy Chief Chris Hirsch.

The Dignity Project is aiming to host more community forums in the future.