Santa Monica business, once hit by looters, now helps build relationships between youth and police
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (KABC) — The looting and violence following the death of George Floyd almost one year ago devastated parts of the city of Santa Monica– and strained the relationship between the community and the city’s police department.
“As an organization, as a police department we were hurting. We felt that we let our community down and so shortly after that we were speaking to some of the business owners to find out what we can do to help out and we identified this business as one that we felt we failed,” said Sgt. Gerardo Leyva of the Santa Monica Police Department.
SMMC’s Lana Negrete Interviewed for NAMM
Lana Negrete grew up in her father’s music store and always had a passion for music and the arts, but she wasn’t sure if music retail was for her. Everything changed when she became a mom and saw the need for more robust school music programs. She wanted to ensure that all kids were given the same opportunity in music education and built a program to do so with Santa Monica Music Center. Lana’s commitment to the community has only grown over the years and the community in return have supported her and Santa Monica Music Center during some difficult and trying times.
