Baltimore Riot Scenes of Hope Amid Despair
— -- As unrest subsided in Baltimore today, citizens took to the streets to help with cleanup and lend a generous hand.
Among the most poignant interactions was a boy distributing free water bottles to police in this viral photo shared by Bishop M. Cromartie, senior pastor at Prophetic Deliverance Ministries in Baltimore.
Bonnie Bessor, executive director Rebuilding Together Baltimore, said Tuesday was "a much more peaceful night" after Monday violence that damaged property and injured police officers. The nonprofit, which provides critical home repairs to homeowners with low incomes, had just organized an annual rebuilding and cleanup day Saturday. By Monday evening, the neighborhood where the organization works was affected by looting.
"Yesterday was an amazing day," she told ABC News. "Thousands of people came out to clean up the community -- people of all ages and walks of life and people from outside the city. And people are really banding together."
Volunteers helped clear debris from one of two CVS stores in Baltimore Tuesday that had been the target of looting and caught on fire.
CVS Health spokeswoman Carolyn Castel told ABC News the company is grateful to its customers in Baltimore "for their show of support over this week." With the exception of the two CVS stores that “sustained heavy damage,” Castel said the company is “up and running in all of our Baltimore locations.”
"Our top priority is to maintain a safe working environment for our Baltimore employees and to serve our patients with medical needs," she said in a statement.
Baltimore reporter Brian Kuebler of ABC affiliate WMAR-TV tweeted photos of adults and children helping out in the community.
"Yesterday, dozens of volunteers helped to clean up the community and also peacefully send a message as a group to stop the violence," Bessor of Rebuilding Together Baltimore said. "So there was a group of volunteers who marched up York Road to send the message that we want to have a peaceful community.”
