A citizens’ patrol group had extra help for its regular Friday night rounds of North End Winnipeg.

Friday night, as the Bear Clan Patrol donned reflective safety vests and walked along Jarvis Avenue, people from Regina and Kenora marched alongside them to learn the ropes.

The Bear Clan Patrol was first formed in the North End in 1992, and after a hiatus, returned to the streets in July 2015.

The group now has dozens of members and has assisted in several high-profile cases in Manitoba, including recent searches for missing Winnipeg teen Cooper Nemeth and two-year-old Chase Martens in Austin.

After seeing media coverage and hearing about the Bear Clan, efforts are underway to start similar grassroots models in other jurisdictions.

White Pony Lodge is a new group from North Central Regina that hopes to stop violence in its area.

“There's a lot of similarities and a lot of similar issues that our community is currently going through, that this community is going through as well and we really like how they're getting together to address the needs within their community,” said White Pony Lodge organizer Shawna Oochoo,

Six people from Kenora also joined the patrol, including relatives of Delaine Copenace.

They had organized a search when the teenage girl went missing in Kenora earlier this year and now want to form a chapter of the Bear Clan in Northwestern Ontario.

“In our community, we know that there's a lot of issues and our youth and a lot of honourable people and our goal is to make our community safe, so we wanted to learn what the Bear Clan is about," said Joelle Roy from Kenora.

Members of the Bear Clan welcomed the interest. They instructed the out-of-town guests what to do in potential situations that involved violence, drugs or sexual exploitation.

"It's nice that there's a solution, a potential solution. We are making positive changes in the community and it looks like our model is going to spread,” said James Favel of the Bear Clan Patrol.

The Bear Clan said it would like to see its model expanded nationally.