SCRANTON, Pa. — Children eager to meet Jolly Old Saint Nick surrounded Santa Claus as he visited several affordable housing communities in Scranton.
At Hilltop Manor, he came not by eight tiny reindeer, but rather by police escort with several police officers and Scranton's interim police chief in tow.
This was a new initiative for the city called the "Sidewalk Santa" program. Santa greeted people on the sidewalk, and children received presents, including free food vouchers for area restaurants, police badges, and homemade winter hats.
"It's actually very heartwarming. We haven't seen anything like this for a while due to all the pandemic. Everybody's home,” said parent Edith Flores. "To see everybody outside and having fun but social distancing, being careful, it's actually very awesome.”
This effort was originally an "Undercover Santa" program. Police would pull over drivers then give out food vouchers instead of traffic tickets. But the city suspended the program last week after some community activists found it to be insensitive.
Scranton's interim police chief says, based on reaction, the new "Sidewalk Santa" program is a hit.
"It's real important that we're seen in the community that the police are working for them,” said Chief Leonard Namiokta. “That's what we're all about. Giving back to the community we serve. They're here for us. They rely on us to protect them every day, so we just want to give back during this holiday season.”
The chief says this is not just uplifting for the communities they visited. It also boosts morale for his officers.
After hitting up several neighborhoods and even some business locations, this new "Sidewalk Santa" program was a wrap.
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