A San Francisco-area group called “We Come Together” is trying to keep elderly Asians in the community safe from hate crime attacks by distributing hundreds of whistles to them.
Volunteers have distributed hundreds of whistles so far this week, KRON reported.
One of the organizers said a whistle could be an efficient deterrent to would-be criminals because it creates a lot of noise that could alert bystanders’ attention or scare the person attempting to harm the person wearing the whistle.
Organizer Jhina Alvarado-Morse says she was inspired to create the whistle drive while browsing an online mom’s group.
One of the mothers shared concerns about her Asian parents. People in the group suggested they arm themselves with pepper spray to protect themselves, but Alvarado-Morse said it could be too dangerous to use.
So she came up with the idea of whistles.
The idea seemed to catch on in the community, with more and more people donating their time or money to help with the project.
“By day 2, we had 1,000 whistles, and by day 3, we had a need for 5,000 whistles,” Alvarado-Morse said.
There are currently 45 volunteers.
“They were so excited about it and so grateful, and they kept on saying thank you for helping,” Alvarado-Morse said.
Volunteers in the area are also helping to escort elderly Asians to keep them safe.
The surge in volunteers stepping up to the plate to protect the Asian-American community comes as hate crimes against the elderly in the community have increased during the coronavirus — which is believed to have started in Wuhan, China.
More than 2,808 reports of anti-Asian hate from 47 states and Washington, DC, took place between March 19 and December 31, 2020, with 7.3 percent of those incidents involving Asians over 60, according to a report from Stop AAPI Hate.