The eastern box turtle represents holding on and surviving, sticking its neck out, which led to its status as a state symbol ...

Safe Passage worker Denise Evans helps people cross Normal Avenue at 124th Street outside Metcalfe Community Academy in West Pullman after school on Wednesday, Sept. 4, 2024.

Safe Passage organizations engaged with over 8,000 students from September to December 2024 and have “significantly enhanced students’ sense of personal safety,” the mayor’s office said.

The presence of Safe Passage workers on the street or parents watching from porches or street corners can be “one hell of a deterrent for crime and violence,” she said.