Mayor Charles Moreau, left, greets Sen. Jack Reed upon Reed’s arrival at a news conference at Jenks Park in Central Falls yesterday.

The Providence Journal / Bill Murphy

CENTRAL FALLS — Two street workers from the Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence will be coming to work in Central Falls.

Teny Gross, the executive director of the nonviolence institute, says the street workers will work with students in the schools, social agencies and the police in hopes of maintaining peace in the city.

Supt. of Schools Frances Gallo, who knew Gross from when she worked in the Providence school system, said she asked him to bring his workers to the city before the recent shooting deaths of Helder Tomar, 19, of Pawtucket, and 16-year-old Eldelmiro Roman, a student at Central Falls High School. Tomar was shot to death April 26 in Jenks Park after he and Anthony Strobert, 19, of Central Falls got into a fight. Strobert has been charged with his murder. The next day someone shot Roman as he walked along Dexter Street. The police have not made any arrests in Roman’s shooting, which they say may be retaliatory.

Gallo said that at the beginning of the school year the police told her of their concerns that there were some students from gangs moving into the neighborhoods. “That is when we said, what about if we have a frontal push to say we don’t want gangs. That is when we reached out to Teny,” Gallo said.

“It would be an advantage to have the street workers to put out fires before they reach the level of no return. They do a lot of mediation training. We want our students to understand they don’t have to use their fists, to understand that when they bring in a gun they will do irreparable harm,” Gallo said.

Gross said that he was impressed by what he called the “strengths” of Central Falls and the potential for the work that can be done there. “The chief of police sends his kids to the public schools. You have Progreso Latino. You have Channel One. You have Fran Gallo. It’s a small place with a lot of community grass roots. It’s like sniffing roses,” Gross said. “It’s an America that used to be. People know each other. That doesn’t happen anymore in cities.”

Gross said Gallo is being proactive. The economic downturn will create a perfect storm for unrest, he said. “With foreclosures, nonprofits being given less money for programs, heating or food, the poor have a less margin of error,” Gross said.

The street workers will look at truancy at Calcutt Middle School. They will look at adults who are effective with children and assist them. Gross said the ideal thing would be to have two street workers in Central Falls and two in Pawtucket, given that the borders of the neighboring cities are so porous.

Gross talked about street worker Sareth “Tony” Kim, who was stabbed and beaten two weeks ago in Providence and retaliation. “Tony was almost killed but he has absolutely no interest in retaliation. We see something the kids don’t see. We see dead kids in the emergency room. All the bravado is completely gone. We see the toughest kid down like a marshmallow on the floor because their friend has been shot. I’ve spent 18 years working in this waiting for a happy funeral.”

Police Chief Joseph Moran said that the street workers may be helpful in that some people won’t confide in the police out of fear of being labeled a snitch. He said that the addition of the street workers, as well as the curfew that was imposed two weeks ago, would help keep calm in the city. The curfew ordinance was to receive first passage last night at a council meeting. It will receive final passage in the next week or two. During a morning ceremony in the gazebo at Jenks Park yesterday, Sen. Jack Reed announced that the city would get $196,000 to help revitalize Jenks Park and preserve historic sites in Central Falls. There was no mention of Tomar’s death in Jenks Park or the shootings.

The shootings have put the city on edge and Gallo and Moran keep close contact to let each other know of any news pertaining to shootings or retaliations or rumors. Rumors are often the enemy of getting back to normal, they say. Yesterday, the school began its day on heightened alert after a local TV station broadcast a report Sunday night that said a third shooting had occurred Sunday on Fletcher Street. Gallo saw the report in the morning at home. When she arrived at school, teachers and administrators expressed apprehension. Moran called Gallo to say the television report was wrong. She told her administrators to notify teachers. The school used its computerized system to call parents to tell them that the TV report was wrong.

Moran said that there was no shooting but a man was stabbed on Fletcher Street at about 4 p.m. during an altercation between four people. He was taken to Rhode Island hospital where Moran said he was in stable condition. Moran said the stabbing was in no way related to the shootings. No high school students were involved. Three people were charged — one with assault with a dangerous weapon and two for simple assault.

tpina@projo.com