(BCN) – Hundreds of workers from Urban Alchemy, a nonprofit organization that provides public safety services on the streets of San Francisco, gathered on the steps of City Hall Tuesday to honor one of their colleagues who was shot and killed last week. In the early evening of September 26, 60-year-old Joey Alexander was on shift when he was shot outside the Main Library branch in San Francisco.
Alexander, a street ambassador for Urban Alchemy, was shot after asking someone to refrain from using drugs in public, according to Urban Alchemy. Urban Alchemy is an organization that contracts with the city to provide outreach and crime deterrence services, especially in areas plagued by homelessness and outdoor drug use such as the Tenderloin neighborhood.
Street Ambassadors, who were mostly formerly incarcerated before joining the nonprofit, monitor the streets and provide crisis intervention for people with mental illness or substance use disorders.
“Urban chemistry is an integral part of our community,” said David Seward, UCSF chief financial officer. The Law School is located on the edge of the Tenderloin and often interacts with Urban Alchemy Ambassadors.
“Practitioners keep us safe, keep us grounded,” Seward said. “We mourn the loss of Joey Alexander and pray for the safety of the urban alchemy practitioners who keep our community safe.”
His colleagues, as well as Mayor Daniel Lowery and several supervisors, acknowledged Alexander’s service and the pain his death caused his family and the Urban Alchemy team.
“We are here in the face of an unimaginable tragedy to honor the life of Joey Alexander, a man who gave his heart to our communities through his work as an urban alchemist practitioner,” said Superintendent Bilal Mahmoud. “A man who was exposed to gun violence too soon simply for being brave enough to serve our community.”
Alexander’s death also sparked greater outrage to address outdoor drug use.
“We have to get involved,” said Cedric Akbar, a prominent voice in San Francisco’s addiction recovery community. “We have to stop taking drugs on the streets. We have to tear down these permissive policies that allow us to die in public.”
Lori said he ordered more foot patrols in and around the Civic Center area. The commemorative event was also an opportunity for Lori and the other speakers to express their great gratitude to the workers at Urban Alchemy.
“I am grateful to all of you every day for working so hard and collaborating in the streets on behalf of communities,” Lowry said. “You are there every day helping people and creating safe spaces all over San Francisco.”
Edmund Bowen, the 42-year-old man suspected of shooting Alexander, has been charged with murder and assault with a firearm, according to District Attorney Brooke Jenkins.
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