Safe Indy recently finished its inaugural year in the Jewish Community, laying the foundation of its mission to create a more safe and secure environment for the Federation’s agencies, Jewish organizations and synagogues. 
Security has been and continues to be of utmost importance, and in 2020, with the help of the Federation’s agencies, Jewish organizations and synagogues, the Federation hired Grant Mendenhall, former FBI agent, as the first Community Security Director. This role is in partnership with Secure Community Network (SCN), the official safety and security organization of the Jewish Community in North America. Mendenhall then instituted the Safe Indy initiative. 
In late spring through the fall, Safe Indy hit the ground running by developing a community-wide security structure, including a Strategic Crisis Management Team and Community Security Committee. A Safe Indy security web page (www.jewishindianapolis.org/safeindy) was created to include a multitude of resources and how to report incidents. Safe Indy started discussions with several dozen community leaders for security consultations and assessments, security incidents, and community-wide trainings. Mendenhall hosted an in-person Countering Active Threat Training (CATT) for staff members at Hooverwood Living and Hasten Hebrew Academy of Indianapolis, as well as virtual CATT for the JCC Early Childhood Education Staff. A community-wide virtual training on CATT was conducted with more than 150 households in attendance. 
In addition, Safe Indy conducted security discussions with the Jewish community, completed formal security assessments at a number of community facilities and created preparedness plans based on those assessments. 
As 2020 drew to a close, Safe Indy focused significant attention on election security, as the JCC was designated as a polling place for the Nov. 3 elections. Mendenhall, along with Federation Operations Director Jeff Linkon and JCC Facilities Manager Bob Stedron, successfully collaborated with state election officials, as well as federal and local law enforcement agencies, to ensure the JCC was well positioned to provide a safe and secure voting environment.
“We made significant progress in the first year of the Safe Indy Initiative; as a community with a more defined and focused security culture; as organizations and agencies with a number of significant improvements in overall security posture and preparedness,” Mendenhall said.
Safe Indy will have even greater momentum and progress in 2021 as they continue to seek opportunities to provide training to Jewish organizations and community members.