Never underestimate the power of a pair of shoes.

For Baltimore City Police Detective Jahlik Mathis, sneakers are more than just footwear — they’re a tool to rebuild trust between the police and the community.

In January, FOX45 News followed Mathis on one of his deliveries, offering a glimpse into life in Baltimore through the eyes of its police officers.

“As you can see, this early morning, there’s things going on,” Mathis said, pointing to what appeared to be a crime scene unfolding just outside the police vehicle he was driving.

But for Detective Mathis, this scene felt familiar, evoking memories that extended beyond his work on the force.

“Because I’m originally from North Philadelphia, and it just looks like where I grew up,” Mathis said.

For 11 years, Mathis has answered the call for service. Six of those years were spent in Baltimore, where he now works as a detective in the Public Integrity Bureau, holding law enforcement accountable. Yet, Mathis admitted one of the most challenging parts of his job involved confronting challenges that police alone can’t address.

“A lot of times we’ll get calls where it’s not a police matter, it’s a resource matter. It’s not something we can do to help this individual. So, for me, that is tough. That’s kind of tough to deal with,” Mathis explained.

But on that particular Thursday morning, Mathis began heading toward the Western District.

“It’s a more impoverished area,” Mathis said.

He arrived in the Sandtown-Winchester neighborhood, just a few blocks from the mural of Freddie Gray — a stark reminder of the tension between police and the community — with his mission clear: to make a difference in the lives of local youth.

“I just think as police officers, we should do more than just enforce,” he said.

He was joined by former Baltimore City School Police Officer Ralph Black, who used his connections with local youth to identify those in need. Together, they walked to a home, knocked on the door, and were greeted by a pair of 14-year-old twins.

“Officer Black here told me about y’all, and I don’t know if I’m going to get the sizes confused, but I know somebody wears a size 9 and somebody wears a size 8,” Mathis said as he handed the boys each a shiny new pair of Nike sneakers.

He also planned to have $100 worth of groceries delivered to the home.

“He helped, he really helped,” said one of the twins, as he showed off his new shoes.

Since founding Police and Sneaks in 2021, Mathis has been using his own time and resources to make these kinds of deliveries to children across the city. What began as a small mission to give back has grown into a movement, with other officers and organizations now joining in to donate time and money. So far, they’ve delivered over 500 pairs of shoes.

Mathis said the nonprofit was inspired by his own hardships growing up, and one life-changing encounter.

“Just being in Baltimore City as a police officer, I remember getting a call to a house for a kid who didn’t want to go to school because he had holes in his sneakers. I made a deal with him: if he went to school, I’d buy him a brand-new pair of sneakers. And just that one thing — the mother found me on Instagram, wrote me a message, and said that I kind of changed her mind a little about police,” Mathis recalled. “And something just woke up in me. I said, ‘I’m going to do this every week for as long as I’m a police officer, every time I get paid.’”

Former School Police Officer Black said he would continue to use his connections with the youth to support Mathis’ mission.

“You never know what someone’s going through. A pair of shoes, a meal, anything that can be positive — he got my 100% back,” said Black.