The
Toledo Blade...
Toledo
group seeks community
assistance to reduce youth violence
October 8, 2011
There
isn’t a shortage of
organizations in the quest to quell youth violence in Toledo. What can
be
challenging, however, is making sure all the legs are marching in the
same
direction.
After
almost two months of weekly
meetings and two excursions into high-risk neighborhoods, Mayor Mike
Bell’s
Coalition for Hope hosted a large gathering Tuesday at the Erie Street
Market
to ask community leaders and residents to come together in an effort to
see how
resources can be best connected and aligned.
The
pitch was simple: Sign up under
one of six categories you feel your qualifications and interests lean
and say
what you’re willing to do to help work toward a solution to the problem.
“There’s
so many folks in this room
doing good work, but we may not be connected to the next person,” said
the Rev.
John C. Jones, the president of the Greater Toledo Urban League and one
of the
coalition members who spoke.
Linda
Alvarado, executive director of
the city’s Board of Community Relations, said the prevalence of youth
violence
isn’t easily explained. It has roots in the economy, the community, and
is
permeated with social and cultural factors.
“We
understand it’s such a complex
issue,” she said.
But
it’s a pressing one, a grim
reality brought to the forefront by a rash of early summer shootings.
“Folks
in the community started saying
enough is enough,” Rev. Jones said.
And
leaders say they know from their
survey of about 150 North Toledo and Old West End residents that people
are
ready to work together for change, but are hungry for the help to do
it.
Officials said more than half of those surveyed believe things like
block
watches and faith-based initiatives have made some difference. But as
of yet,
it’s not enough, as youth violence and gang violence remained the top
two
concerns in the survey. The top answers for what is needed to correct
the path
were jobs and job training, mentoring, and recreational opportunities.
“If
we don’t put time into this and
effort into this, we’re going to lose our city and lose our kids,”
Mayor Bell
said.
The
mayor recalled seeing a group of
youngsters playing football while on one of the previous walks. He was
impressed,
but questioned their coach why some schools have trouble finding enough
students to fill their rosters. The answer, Mayor Bell said, was that
in many
cases their grades didn’t meet eligibility requirements. As one of the
keys to
keeping youth out of trouble is keeping them busy, he mulled aloud
whether it
might be possible to set up a study table before or after practices,
similar to
the way many college football programs do.
Coalition
leaders have identified six
categories or “pillars” to work toward correcting the problem: criminal
justice, youth outreach, community mobilization, faith-based
organizations,
education, and economics.
The
turnout was good, thanks in part
to Ms. Alvarado’s networking. Since taking over her position, Ms.
Alvarado has
amassed a list of some 3,000 email addresses, a contact chain that
helped bring
in at least 200 people Tuesday who signed up to help. “We want to see
what’s
out there, what people are willing to do, and if there are gaps we need
to
address that as a city,” she said.
The
coalition plans more ventures to
the streets and leaders will soon begin calling those who signed up to
set
individual meetings. The results and suggestions of those will go back
to the
steering committee, which will craft an overall plan.
Read
it at the Toledo Blade
|