Illegal dumpers take advantage of initiative intended to provide children with safe walk to school

DETROIT – The Safe Sidewalk Initiative was created to help provide children who walk to school at the Sampson-Webber Leadership Academy a stress-free walk to school.

Ronald Cannon dedicated his life to helping others to honor his mom, who died from cancer in 2011.

Every day Cannon looks for ways to help others, and in late September he came up with the sidewalk initiative.

Cannon and 50 volunteers cleared trash and brush away down Firewood Street in Detroit so kids walking to school wouldn't have to walk in the street.

With the street clear, people are using those areas to dump anything and everything they don't want anymore.

Up and down the street there are piles of televisions, tires and trash.

Watch the video above for Shawn Ley's full story.