The city of Santa Clarita has volunteers who help keep the city looking beautiful. During spring, volunteers participate in the Santa Clara River Rally and Pride Week. Both events allow citizens to volunteer to clean up and beautify the community. A portion of the Santa Clara River is always cleaned, and during Pride Week, hundreds of volunteers, consisting of groups and individuals, participate in trash removal, tree planting, weed pulling, painting and river bed clean up.

However, throughout the year, dedicated volunteers make an extra effort to keep the city of Santa Clarita one of the top 10 safest cities to live in by eradicating graffiti within 24 hours when it goes up. The city also has a great Graffiti Hot Line to report graffiti as soon as it happens.

The sidewalk by my home was recently tagged, and so was the neighbor’s wall. We called the hotline and they took care of it quickly. The hotline number is 661-252-5326.

You can help keep our city free of graffiti by reporting it when you see it. Don’t wait for someone else to report it. Call it in on the hotline. Call the Sheriff’s Department if you see someone doing it. Don’t confront them.

Did you know taggers are responsible for tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of damage that taxpayers must pay in the form of additional taxes? Dozens of juveniles as well as adults are arrested each month for causing property damage with graffiti.

The city’s Graffiti Task Force helps to facilitate convictions by gathering evidence and information about vandals. If you have anything suspicious to report, please contact them on the hotline number.

As a citizen, I believe we need to have zero tolerance for graffiti vandals. I have been in third-world countries where every home, every wall, every blank space is covered with graffiti. This is not how I want to live. Our city works hard to keep Santa Clarita a safe and wonderful place to live. But they need your eyes and ears to help them stop graffiti “artists” cold.

I advocate for higher fines, jail time and restitution for property damage from all vandals. The more they get just a slap on the wrist, the more they laugh at law enforcement and continue to tag other people’s property.

In addition to turning in graffiti and vandals, you can help in other ways. You can volunteer with the city, the Sheriff’s Department, or an organization that removes graffiti, such as a community service organization like the Community Hiking Club or Teens Against Graffiti. A few hours each month will make a huge difference for our city.

Help keep Santa Clarita beautiful. Encourage your children and friends to invest some volunteer hours to help keep our streets clean and graffiti-free. You’ll be setting a great example for your kids and helping the community.

Remember, graffiti is a crime. Graffiti affects our quality of life. And you can make a difference.

Dianne Erskine-Hellrigel is executive director of the Community Hiking Club and president of the Santa Clara River Watershed Conservancy. If you’d like to be part of the solution, join the Community Hiking Club’s Stewardship Committee. Contact Dianne through communityhikingclub.org or at zuliebear@aol.com.