A group of local activists, community leaders, and church officials are taking action to end what they consider to be senseless and excessive gun violence in the city of Toledo.
The Coalition for a Peaceful Toledo is calling for a return to community policing and Toledo’s neighborhood Block Watch program. The group held a news conference Monday morning to announce plans to address the gun violence issue, which includes hosting a community meeting on Thursday.
Former Toledo mayor Carty Finkbeiner, who led the coalition, said that at one time, Toledo realized less than 20 homicides in a single year. So far this year, there have been 49 reported homicides in the city of Toledo.
“This is not normal,” Mr. Finkbeiner said. “There does not seem to be a plan in place to halt the violence and make peaceful again the neighborhoods in our city.”
The coalition is calling for greater community engagement and positive outlets for Toledo’s youth. More neighborhood watch programs are also needed, said Mr. Finkbeiner, who noted that at one time, the city had 250 such groups, and today that number has dwindled to six. The coalition hopes to oversee the organization of 150 community watch block groups in the next year, he said.
The introduction of anti-violence education and workshops in schools, churches, and civic organizations are also needed and Mr. Finkbeiner will personally work to help fill 1,000 youth summer jobs cleaning up neighborhoods, parks, alleys and serving as youth leaders in city parks.
The coalition is also calling for greater community policing, which would encourage officers to spend an hour per shift walking through neighborhoods with community members to get to know the people who live in those communities, Mr. Finkbeiner said.
“This is not all on the police department,” he said. “The neighbors and the police together, however, can help make this city safe again.”
Taking away the frustrations of individuals who exist “on the bottom” could help to curb the violence, said Baldemar Velasquez, founder and 14-term president of the Farm and Labor Organizing Committee, who also spoke at the news conference.
“When you give people who feel hopeless and have no hope for the future, they turn to different ways they feel they have to survive,” Mr. Velasquez said. “So we have to create relationships with them, and bring them into programs that will allow them to flourish and let them have an opportunity to develop those God-given skills that everyone has.”
Providing job skills training that can lead to a “fair day’s pay for a fair day of work” will also go a long way, he said.
“We have to do the hard work of creating those options and create opportunities for them so they can make some other choices,” he said.
Bishop Marjorie Holt of Bethesda Christian Center would like churches to become the epicenter of guidance and support for families.
“I believe that the key to what we all are standing here today to really work hard and fight for is once again that the church becomes the hub of this community,” she said. “I encourage all of us to not be so removed. Every movement that has become pivotal in the United States of America started in the church, and we’ve got to get back. Let’s do it again.”
Rev. Steve Swisher, pastor at Epworth United Methodist Church, called for unity, saying that every life is relevant and every life that is lost to gun violence diminishes everyone in the community.
“We’ve seen shootings in every corner of this city and it’s time that we come together across political lines, across walks of life, no matter where we live across this city, to link arms and say ‘we can do better,’” he said.
A community meeting to discuss a city-wide initiative to address gun violence will take place at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Epworth United Methodist Church on Central Avenue in Toledo.
First Published October 24, 2022, 6:39 p.m.
