A once trashy street in the city of Oakland, CA has been transformed to one of peace and tranquility. The SF Gate reports some believe the transformation dates back to the day someone left a two-foot high stone Buddha in the median of 11th Avenue and 19th Street in Oakland’s Eastlake neighborhood (file photo by Eric Fisher).
Spontaneously members of the community began leaving flowers at the base of the statue. A group of Vietnamese women came daily to pray there. Since then, people have stopped dumping garbage on the street. The graffiti has stopped and drug dealers and prostitutes disappeared from the area.
The year to date crime rate has dropped 82 percent.
“I can’t say what to attribute it to, but these are the numbers,” a police statistician said.
The statue was left by Dan Steverson who says he’s not Buddhist. You can read how his simple act changed his life and the life of the neighborhood in SF Gate.