"The area was pretty dead. Usually you see people just sitting out on the side of the road, people talking, kids riding around on their bikes. But it was dead quiet."

That was the description of St. Monica's Mission by Antonio Belvedere as he patrolled the streets to offer a helping hand and comfort the people in the troubled Pembroke area.

Opinion was split on why the area was deserted that night. One thought people were suspicious of their presence, another suggested people were staying inside because of the weather, while Mr. Belvedere said it may have also been for safety reasons.

Either way it was after 6 p.m. darkness had just arrived and instead of young men lining the streets there was a few scatterings of people coming home from a long day's work.

One of those people was a woman with her grandchild. Faced with walking through an unlit alley she gratefully accepted help from Mr. Belvedere and brothers Wayne and Travis Caines who stood out in their reflective vests as they guided her home with their flash lights.

The woman admitted she used to feel safe walking the eerily quiet road, but it's been scarier lately with so much violence going on outside their doors, she said.

Mr. Belvedere said: "We walked that lady to the other side of the hood, but clearly she liked that. She felt more safe.

"She felt warmth. We can't do it forever, but what we are trying to do is let people know that people outside these neighbourhoods care."

Wayne and Travis Caines and Mr. Belvedere were out in the area as part of a Rise Above Bermuda initiative a community watch programme that plans to visit other troubled areas in the coming weeks.

They were doing it to bring comfort to communities in the wake of five murders in the past nine months with three victims coming from the Glebe and St. Monica's Road area.

They spent 90 minutes patrolling the streets, walking women and children home through unlit paths and greeting passers-by in the area.

"It's really just about a presence. A lot of neighbourhood people are fearful of the situation going on. So to see a friendly face is reaffirming it's not as bad as it seems," said Travis Caines.

It was their first patrol and while Mr. Belvedere said he was intimidated at first and unsure how the night was going to go, he said: "As it progressed I felt a lot more comfortable. I felt good about it (and) want to continue doing it."

There were people suspicious of their presence and young men who drove slowly in their darkly coloured vehicles to catch a glimpse of who they were.

But most were welcoming and appreciated it, said Mr. Belvedere. "Two guys came out to tell us how good a job we were doing. One guy was like 'it's good to see you, I feel good'. He lives here, he hangs here, these are his boys that are losing their lives. We're just here to show them we're here if you need support, if you need to talk."

According to Travis Caines: "We hope it resonates to the point where (people see) this is going to be a life changing process.

"Hopefully the community sees that with everyone getting back to how we used to 20 years ago where if a child was in the street and you weren't his parent but you knew he was doing something he shouldn't be you would correct him.

"We are just getting back to a sense of responsibility and a sense of us being a community rather than 'OK that's not my child so I don't care'," he said.

Their initiative started shortly before 6 p.m. on Thursday with a visit to the home of murdered father-of-two Perry Puckerin, 34, where they prayed with his father for a few minutes.

Mr. Puckerin was shot dead at the Hamilton Parish Workman's Club last Sunday. "It was a real quiet atmosphere, but it was hectic, which it would be at this time," said Mr. Belvedere. "Perry Sr. did touch on how nice it was to have support and he hopes the support stays there."

They also spoke with the mother of Omari Gordon, a man recently arrested for allegedly discharging a firearm at three Police officers in the Middletown area just over a year ago.

"She (the mother of Mr. Gordon) was happy to see us. She hadn't seen her son in two years and she just wants him to be safe. We gave her good words and support.

"She was up here shivering," Mr. Belvedere added. "She said she wasn't shivering from the cold, but because she was so close to seeing her son but was (not allowed)."

According to Wayne Caines the night was a success. "The ultimate aim was to ensure we had a community presence just to help people by doing basic things, helping people cross the road.

"We were able to walk a few people home, talk to a few guys and offer people in the community our services (like grocery shopping, cleaning their home, picking up kids from nursery school, etc).

"But we are not trying to be Police. We are just trying to be a community presence on the streets."

* The group is hoping to find more men to help them on their regular patrols, particularly church groups and football clubs. For more information or to sign up visit www.riseabovebermuda.org.