New Era Detroit teaming up with businesses to create safe zones throughout city

DETROIT (FOX 2) - New Era Detroit is stepping up to fight human trafficking by recruiting businesses to become safe havens for anyone in fear. 

"A young lady was coming in and she was in an accident. She hit someone by mistake -- car accident. So she came and ran into the store because the individual that she hit, the young man was being very belligerent. So she came into the store to make sure that he didn't harm her," said Tyson Kelley.

Kelley, the owner of the People's Store on 7 Mile in Detroit, has had people take refuge in his convenience store when someone's having an emergency. He says he's on board with what New Era Detroit is doing by getting businesses involved with safety.

New Era Detroit is asking businesses to put up decals that say "Safe Zone Detroit" to signify that they are safe zones. They're targeting areas around bus stops and school zones, and businesses that are open longer hours.

"By being a convenience store, we're open to the general public so I want to make sure the general public is safe coming here," Kelley said. 

"There are a lot of businesses and a lot of territories, so we need volunteers too," said Zeek with New Era Detroit.

While many Detroit businesses participate in the city's Green Light program, where cameras around the building send high-definition footage directly to the Detroit Police Department, many do not.

"There are a lot of businesses in the community that still want to represent their community and be a part of safety," Zeek said.

With five locations set up already and more to come, New Era Detroit says it wants to target the entire city, with a focus on other convenience stores and gas stations.