How much money would someone have to pay you to patrol the streets late at night in the highest crime areas in the East Bay? Would you want to be paid extra every time you have to deal with somebody

 

who has a gun? Or would you do it for free, volunteering your personal time to protect innocent people from crime? Placing yourself in the line of crime without any weapons of your own. That’s exactly what the Guardian Angels have been doing since 1979 when the first chapter was formed in New York.

 

Cristina Fernandez is the chapter leader of the Oakland Guardian Angels. Born and raised in Oakland, the 39 year-old is the first Latina leader of a Guardian Angels chapter in California. She leads an all volunteer group of about fifteen men who give their free time to protect the innocent on the street. They don’t carry any weapons, but they are armed with handcuffs and many years of martial arts training.

When asked about the courage it takes to patrol high crime areas late at night, Cristina says that the first question people ask her is, “Are you crazy?” But she says that she doesn’t look at it that way.

“Why should I sit back and keep complaining about what’s not being done - I need to do something about it,” she asserts. Cristina and her team patrol in any neighborhood where they are requested to be in. She says that they try to, “Make sure people are safe when they walk to the store or continue with their daily activities without the fear of being harassed.”

Cristina says that she had a lot of anger before joining the Guardian Angels. “These young men going off to war and not returning to their families and yet we have these young knuckleheads on the street taking advantage of the freedoms they have and not caring about what’s happening,” she says. “A lot of these guys are over there putting their lives on the line and I got fed up of people taking advantage of our freedoms – it really upset me,” she says. “I’m going to get out there and do something about it and put something positive into people’s lives,” she adds. When asked about her fear when patrolling the streets at night, she says, “When I walk into the streets I don’t have fear at all.” Born and raised on the Oakland streets, she is a veteran of the street who knows every corner of the city.

In addition to patrolling the city, the group is involved with the community in a number of ways, including talking to kids at schools about drugs and gangs. Cristina is the mother of two sons. She says that, “People think it’s impossible to raise two boys in Oakland and not be on drugs or be in gangs – but it’s not impossible to bring up kids out of Oakland who turn out really great.”

There is also Youth Guardian Angels, which teaches discipline and leadership for kids between the ages of 12 and 16. “We teach them how to be in this world without being on drugs and being in gangs - how you can have a good life without all the negative aspects,” Cristina says. Cristina’s challenge to her fellow Bay Area residents is clear; “If I can do it so can you. In order to reduce crime everybody needs to get involved – to be the eyes and ears for everybody.”

If you’re up for the challenge and want to learn more about Guardian Angels in the Bay Area, you can contact Cristina at (510) 459-9566 or email at: angeloakland@sbcglobal.net.