A Man Put A
Buddha Statue In A High-Crime Neighborhood. What Happened Next Is Nothing Short
Of Stunning
October 2, 2014
A small gesture from a
non-religious Oakland man has brought a surprisingly big impact to a high-crime
neighborhood.
Photo:
Paul Chinn, The Chronicle / SFGATE.com
The Eastlake neighborhood
resident was simply feeling hopeful when he went to an Ace hardware store,
purchased a 2-foot tall Buddha statue and placed it on a median strip in a
residential area.
What happened next was nothing
short of a miracle. Area residents began to leave offerings at the base of the
Buddha including flowers, food, and candles. A group of Vietnamese women in
prayer robes began to gather at the statue to pray.
The neighborhood completely
changed. People stopped littering and vandalizing. The drug dealers stopped
dealing in the neighborhood. Since 2012, crime dropped 82%. Robbery reports
went from 14 to 3, burglaries were halved, aggravated assaults, narcotics and
prostitution completely vanished.
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