Anthony DeSesso and Sharie Maness lived in cheap Delaware motels when they could afford it and used a $20-per-day rented U-Haul van for sleeping at truck stops and well-lit rest stations when money got tight.

Maness grew up in Wilmington, and after DeSesso lost his job in North Carolina the engaged couple came to Delaware to make a new start. But 90 days into a job search while bouncing around with their 2-year old son, they were exhausted.

The vagabond life wasn't working.

Help came from an unexpected source: Wilmington police.

The couple heard about an officer assisting people in Wilmington's West Center City neighborhood. They sought out and found Lt. Dan Selekman, who, with four other officers, are enforcing the law while helping strengthen one of the city's most violent neighborhoods.

Selekman and his team were happy to lend a hand. In a matter of weeks, the lieutenant and his crew — officers Ann Clark, Tom Oliver, Michael Coleman and Molly McNulty —found the couple a house and helped collect furniture through social media postings.

"The lieutenant is an awesome man," Maness said. "He came in our lives at the right moment. We didn't know which way we were going from one day to the next.

"So he is truly a blessing from God."

Since May, Selekman's team has been assigned to West Center City as part of Mayor Mike Purzycki's neighborhood stabilization plan. It's the first neighborhood in the city to see a greater police presence, increased trash pickup and a crackdown on liquor stores and nuisance properties.

"We're focusing on this area and there's a group of individuals over here who I think are taking ownership of this neighborhood in a very personal way," Purzycki said of the officers. "That matters. Individuals always make a difference."

Wilmington police have long struggled to forge strong bonds with citizens in tough neighborhoods, and that disconnect has hardened the city's 'no-snitch' culture — making it difficult for authorities to solve crimes.

More:Purzycki unveils plan to 'stabilize' Wilmington's West Center City

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Purzycki and Robert Tracy, Wilmington's new police chief, intend to push the intense community policing used in West Center across the city.

Help for the young couple in need of housing is one of many acts of kindness needed in the long-neglected community, residents say. They're encouraged by what they've seen of the stabilization program — and buzzing about the individual efforts of Selekman.

"He's a peace officer delivering his services the best way he can," said 33-year-old resident Antoine Hall. "He's walking with other peace officers, and they are literally committed to the peace in the neighborhood."

'I didn't realize it was going to develop so quickly'

People sat in the 400 block of N. Monroe St. on Wednesday drinking from plastic or brown paper bags while a crew cleared trash from the street. Some quietly enjoyed the fall weather from the stoop outside their homes. Others huddled around a knot of men rolling dice against a row home wall.

Wearing his uniform, Selekman walked into the scene on the adjacent block. Some went inside their homes. The dice players scurried toward Fourth Street.

"That's the boss," said one man who remained outside. "He doesn't want any of this going on."

Selekman describes himself as a "tall, white, Jewish, sweating police officer with this white shirt." He stands out in the mostly African-American neighborhood but stressed that he and his officers do not go into West Center City as adversaries.

He figured it would take months to naturally develop this role.

"What was crazy is that I didn't realize that it was going to develop so quickly," he said. "The same reason that I didn't judge the conditions or prejudge any of it, they all didn't judge me because there was a genuineness to both sides."

Selekman's job is to promote better policing in a neighborhood where more than 1 in 10 parcels are registered vacant property, 45 have been identified for a sheriff's sale, property owners owe the city $1.8 million in delinquent taxes and 989 code violations since 2015 remain unresolved.

A day care center left the neighborhood after its fence was hit by bullets.

Purzycki wants to make the area safe for businesses to operate and launched the campaign to improve the lives of residents from Adams to Tatnall streets and Fourth to 10th streets.

Starting in West Center City is important because the neighborhood is adjacent to Wilmington's downtown business district and sits against I-95, which drivers use to enter the city.

The mayor assigned more staff to licenses and inspections, sanitation, parks and recreation staff and police.

Selekman and his team were selected for the mission by Tracy.

"We're transforming how we do things," the chief said. "We're not just answering calls for service, but we're actually engaging the community and getting to know them and letting them get to know us.

"And with that relationship, everybody is going to be better off because people will be willing to come forward."

In selecting the West Center City team, Tracy said he wanted officers who could work on long-term issues, handle enforcement issues and understand day-to-day rhythms of the neighborhood.

"Their role is to work on immediate things ... work as a liaison with all the other city agencies," he said.

The team's work is visible, but there are other officers doing important tasks unseen to residents. And it all meshes with law enforcement efforts at the state and federal level.

Other officers are working in similar capacities across the city.

"There are so many Dan Selekmans and Cpl. Olivers out there," Tracy said. "I don't want this to get lost. This is what we are supposed to be doing, and I'm happy to see this type of feedback."

Providing services

After DeSesso approached Selekman, he began reaching out to property owners to see what was available. George Beer, owner of Delaware Valley Development Company, said he was willing to work with the couple needing housing, based largely on Selekman's recommendation.

"Dan instills a lot of trust," said Beer, who is one of the largest property owners in West Center City.

On Oct. 6, DeSesso, Maness and their son moved into a two-bedroomhouse in the 600 block of Eighth St.

"It's so overwhelming to have people like that ... help people like us," Maness said of the community's coming together for the house and donated furniture. "For everyone to come together and want the same thing for one another instead of trampling over each another ... it's amazing."

Selekman's ability to be a liaison between people in the community and those able to help demonstrates to residents that police officers are more than just people who arrest them.

"He is incorporating himself and Wilmington Police Department in the public safety component of the healing continuum," said Saad Soliman, founder of the reentry program Peers Mentoring Center. "That's critical because in that community, what's occurred over the course of the past four decades, is that we've been disassociating help with the police.

"In that community, psychologically, it's not common to hear that the police will help."

Having city, state and federal agencies a call away gave Selekman and his crew the credibility they needed with West Center City residents, who have long felt abandoned.

If a resident complained about a loose sewer grate, these officers have the ability to call Public Works and get if fixed. If street lights are out, these officers would call Delmarva Power and have the lights replaced.

"So they saw us as this real genuine support that they never had before," Selekman said.

West Center City, now known for boarded houses, littered sidewalks and people hanging out on sidewalks, at one time featured manicured lawns and clean streets. But decline crept in following the 1968 riots and the construction of I-95, which split the city and tore apart neighborhoods.

In 1963, city and federal officials began planning for the West Center City Urban Renewal project. The more than $20 million project called for better code enforcement and consequences for absentee landlords, according to News Journal archives. It also sought to rehabilitate 800 homes and build 400 new ones, attracting interest from private developers.

Ultimately, the program was defunded under President Nixon's administration, but not before the Wilmington Housing Authority helped dismantle and demolish West Center City. Hundreds of residents were relocated out of the area, but there were not enough affordable houses for them to return.

In April 1988, officials introduced the West Center City Initiative, which again set out to renovate vacant homes and step up code enforcement.

But the initiative didn't do much to change the neighborhood.

That's why the work of Selekman's team is so important.

"It's that kind of community co-op, where you are restoring a sense of community within a community that has felt like they were an island – a silo community," said Soliman, who met Selekman while performing outreach in West Center City.

Soliman and others believe Selekman and the other officers are helping residents envision a better community in the years ahead.

"What Lt. Dan is doing, it shows the community that the police are not just looking to lock people up," said DeSesso, relaxing on a sofa instead of sitting behind the wheel of a rented van. "They're really looking to help people."

From a wave comes a job

When 16-year-old Dashnany Howell needed a job, she didn't hesitate asking Selekman for help.

The teen girl had heard about Selekman's willingness to help people in the community. Since she'd already met him from his walks through the neighborhood, she felt comfortable enough asking Lt. Dan.

"I stopped him and was like, 'Lt. Dan, since you're helping everybody, like, can you help me?'" she recalls asking. "I need a favor."

The two struck up a conversation, Howell remembers. It included her ability to work at her age and that her mother, 34-year-old Lashell Hall, also needed a job.

Within a few hours, Selekman called them to say there was an interview lined up at McDonald's.

The two have been hired.

Selekman's ability to do this was a connection he'd made with Ken Youngblood, who owns four McDonald's franchises in Delaware.

Youngblood said he was heading to his restaurant at 700 W. Fourth St. a few months back, when he noticed the lieutenant standing near the business.

"'There's a policeman all cheery and waving and happy with a cup of coffee. What's this all about?'" Youngblood remembers asking himself. He honked and Selekman returned a wave.

The two eventually struck up a conversation, in which both men discussed what they did, their goals and what they would like to see in the neighborhood — including the importance of hiring from within the community.

Not too long after that, Selekman reached out to Youngblood about Hall and Howell. Youngblood told him the mother and daughter had to do well at the interview, which they did.

"I've never had an officer do that," Youngblood said. "I think this is just good community policing and somebody who cares about the neighborhood –– and wants people to know that he cares.

"That's one of his ways of paying it forward."

Selekman's work in the community is breaking barriers in the neighborhood, where some residents associated officers only with detaining and arresting — never helping.

Before talking to Selekman, Howell said she'd never had a conversation with a police officer.

"They didn't act like real people," she said, recalling previous encounters with officers as being more about glares from squad cars. "They just act like police officers."

Selekman, however, greets people as he walks through their neighborhood. He asks them about their days and even sits down on the front stoop to "chill," she said.

"He keeps it real with you, he's not going to hold nothing back," she adds. "If you vent to him, he tells you how it should be."

While speaking to police in this neighborhood might seem abnormal, both mother and daughter said neither they nor their neighbors have trouble talking to Selekman and other officers in the West Center City team.

"He's just a regular person when he comes around," Hall said, adding that Selekman and his officers truly seem to care about the people in their community.

"Now if something happens, they do have to do their job," she said. "But they're not just here to do that part of their job. They're here to make sure everybody is OK."

Selekman stressed that he and his officers respect the community. That's why they've earned the respect of citizens. The initiative afforded officers the time to build relationships, which help officers understand criminal activity occurring in the neighborhood.

"That is powerful stuff," he said. "And that's stuff that changes not only cities, but states. It really changes the dynamics and everyone feels it. Everyone is excited about it.

"I'm just profoundly honored to be a part of it."

Inspired

Eighteen-year-old Megan Roesser has never met Selekman in person. Yet his work in West Center City has inspired Roesser to help.

The Ursuline Academy senior is working on a project to purchase DART bus passes so that low-income families and homeless people would have access to transportation –– to get them to work and to other locations.

"It wasn't really something that I was required to do," Roesser said. "It was just something that I was excited about and saw that there was a need for DART passes."

Through different events at school, including a dress down day and a Halloween movie night, she hopes to raise enough money to purchase between 100 and 200 cards.

Some of the cards will be donated to Selekman and his team for distribution in West Center City, while other cards will go to the Porter State Service Center, which falls under the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services.

Debbie Hurd, Ursuline's advancement director, said the school instills in its students the importance of serving others. Because of that, they are not surprised that Roesser is moved to perform such acts and believes others will follow.

"I think she inspires all of us, no matter how old we are, to really look around us and be willing to put yourself out there and try something," Hurd said. "She is a teenager and followed somebody on a blog and said, 'How can I help?'

"That's inspiring."

Roesser knew of Selekman when he patrolled her Wilmington neighborhood, the Highlands. She'd see his postings on the Nextdoor app, a social network used by neighborhood residents to keep tabs on their community.

When he was reassigned, Roesser began following him on Facebook and other social media posts, including his interactions with people in West Center City.

"I was kind of inspired by everything that he was doing," she said. So she reached out to Selekman and together they came up with what she could do to help.

Roesser will graduate this year, but said she wants to set up the program so it can be operated by other students in the years to come.

"I'd like to see the change and notice that I am helping other people," Roesser added.

Here are some of what's occurred in West Center City since the neighborhood became a stabilization initiative.

Code Enforcement – The exterior of about 1,100 properties have been inspected by the city's Department of License and Inspection, resulting in 819 violations issued, with 242 having been corrected –– a 30 percent compliance rate. Criminal action will be pursued against those not in compliance

– The exterior of about 1,100 properties have been inspected by the city's Department of License and Inspection, resulting in 819 violations issued, with 242 having been corrected –– a 30 percent compliance rate. Criminal action will be pursued against those not in compliance Rental Inspections – 95 units have been inspected so far and 20 failed. The city has given owners until the end of October to bring the units into compliance. An additional 105 rental unit owners have been unresponsive and criminal charges have been filed against them. The next series of rental inspection letters will be mailed later this month.

– 95 units have been inspected so far and 20 failed. The city has given owners until the end of October to bring the units into compliance. An additional 105 rental unit owners have been unresponsive and criminal charges have been filed against them. The next series of rental inspection letters will be mailed later this month. Vacants to Sheriff Sale – 45 mostly vacant properties now adding neighborhood blight are scheduled to go to sheriff sale between now and the end of the year. The homes will hopefully go into the hands of people who will develop and live in them.

– 45 mostly vacant properties now adding neighborhood blight are scheduled to go to sheriff sale between now and the end of the year. The homes will hopefully go into the hands of people who will develop and live in them. Trash Collection – Trash collection has been switched to twice a week in West Center City and recycling collection suspended. There has been a noticeable decrease in the amount of trash on streets. The city will revert back to recycling once officials believe they have made a considerable dent in problems with trash on streets. Because less than 10 percent of properties there were recycling, the city will have to re-educate citizens on the importance of it.

– Trash collection has been switched to twice a week in West Center City and recycling collection suspended. There has been a noticeable decrease in the amount of trash on streets. The city will revert back to recycling once officials believe they have made a considerable dent in problems with trash on streets. Because less than 10 percent of properties there were recycling, the city will have to re-educate citizens on the importance of it. Street infrastructure and general blight – In recent months, graffiti has been removed across West Center City. Crosswalks and stop signs have been installed on Madison Street to make streets safer and slow traffic. Crosswalks and stop signs will soon to be installed on Monroe Street. Stop signs have been installed at over a dozen intersections in the neighborhood and Public Works is removing dozens of dead trees or stumps and clearing overgrown weeds.

– In recent months, graffiti has been removed across West Center City. Crosswalks and stop signs have been installed on Madison Street to make streets safer and slow traffic. Crosswalks and stop signs will soon to be installed on Monroe Street. Stop signs have been installed at over a dozen intersections in the neighborhood and Public Works is removing dozens of dead trees or stumps and clearing overgrown weeds. Community Meetings – Monthly meetings are held with community leaders and city and state officials at Tabernacle Baptist Church, located at Fifth and Washington streets. Working groups meet weekly to tackle specific issues.

– Monthly meetings are held with community leaders and city and state officials at Tabernacle Baptist Church, located at Fifth and Washington streets. Working groups meet weekly to tackle specific issues. Hicks Anderson Community Center – Work has begun to renovate the pool, build new locker rooms, add a new roof, a new HVAC for gym/fitness center/boxing area, and add a redesigned building façade along with new landscaping. The cost of improvements estimated to be $2.5 million, which is already budgeted.

Contact Esteban Parra at (302) 324-2299, eparra@delawareonline.com or Twitter @eparra3.