Pictured sitting down in the first row is Norma Coleman, pastor Marion Battle of North Main, church of God, Karen, Neal AME, Zion Blackwell Chapel. Second row, James Bess of Emmanuel Baptist church, Sheriff, James Quattrone, Deputy Phil Lombardo, Bishop Uvie Steward of Emmanuel Temple. In the back row are Chief Tim Jackson, Deputy Forster and Joyce Bess of Blackwell Baby Cafe. Submitted photo

Jamestown’s Blackwell Chapel Baby Cafe and the Sheriff’s Department are set to collaborate for a Faith and Blue event on Saturday at Jackson Taylor Park in Jamestown from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The collaboration between Baby Cafe and the Sheriff’s Department for the Faith and Blue campaign began in August 2023 when the Baby Cafe was invited by Sheriff James Quattrone to Mayville for his county-wide discussion on the national Faith and Blue campaign.

“A multitude of vendors like, a bounce house, Dunk-a-Cop, petting zoo, face painting, McGruff, and music including various food vendors will be involved. This event will also embrace inviting health care/community agencies tabling and displaying their agency pamphlets, as they engage with community people,” said Baby Cafe board member Catherine Harrison.

Harrison said that they are anticipating the Faith and Blue campaign event to become an annual event, and would like to see more community involvement, as these events help “set the future for our children who are stewards of tomorrow.”

Harrison then helped to spearhead the campaign in Jamestown, along with a group of African-American pastors and the rest of the Baby Cafe, which specifically deals with the BIPOC and marginalized communities, working to improve health outcomes by empowering families and providing professional and compassionate breastfeeding support.

“The initiative aims to re-calibrate police/community relations through solution-focused, in person, socially distanced and/or virtual activities,” Harrison said. “These activities will be jointly organized by the faith-based communities, organization agencies and law enforcement agencies. When you look back at the history of law enforcement in the African American community in Chautauqua County it has been plagued with disparities, living as a child/teenager on the North side of Jamestown once called “Little Africa”. Law enforcement summoned to this area consistently arrives with an abundance of vehicles as though a riot was transpiring, leaving an everlasting scare to our African American children on the Northside.”

During the past 18 months the Health Department of Central and Western New York and the Oishei Foundation funded a $40,000 grant to a consulting firm to ensure the Baby Cafe’s long-time sustainability and to develop key partnerships in moving forward. Harrison said Baby Cafe officials can use the training to connect effectively with the Faith and Blue movement.

“Faith and Blue was launched to facilitate safer, stronger, more just and unified communities by directly enabling local partnerships among law enforcement professionals, residents, businesses and community groups through the connections of our local faith-based organizations,” Harrison said. “The purpose of meetings like this is to keep a continuum of dialog open and share mutual interests to strengthen critical connections in our local communities.”

Quattrone added that these events help different organizations work together to help make the neighborhood better.

“Faith and Blue events are built on mutual respect, trust, and understanding,” Quattrone said. “Law enforcement entities and faith-based groups are key pillars of a local community and when they work together, and as they thrive the neighborhood thrives as well.”

The Baby Cafe is always in need of more volunteers in their offices or to help out at Saturday’s event in May. For more information, call 716-295-3149.