INDIANAPOLIS -- A new group has formed on the east side to take back their streets.
They call themselves the "Concerned OGs," or "original gangsters."
They're men who've given up a life of crime and are now hoping to inspire wayward youth to do the same.
"The guys I see now, they see us old dudes, they call me OG," said Craig Bledsoe. "Some call me triple OG. That's a tag they give you, you know, old gangster, original gangster."
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Bledsoe's old life as a criminal earned him that tag. He bought and sold drugs on the corners of the east side. He's been in and out of prison since he was 16. Now he's out, and hoping to reach those at risk of taking the same dead-end path.
"Guys that are into the streets, they are not going to listen to somebody that has not been into the street," Bledsoe said.
With his granddaughter and more than a dozen supporters, Bledsoe and his new group set out for their inaugural walk around their east side neighborhood. Each week the Concerned OGs plan to patrol an eight-block radius around 38th Street and Sherman Drive.
The group is modeling its efforts after the Ten Point Coalition, which has had success dealing with similar issues in neighborhoods like the United Northwest.
"We knew that what we did worked, but it's rewarding to see that people from other neighborhoods recognize the hard work," said Ten Point Coalition's Rev. Charles Harrison.
