YOUNGSTOWN Author to focus on city's revival

The task force created two new categories of Peace Awards this year.
By ROGER G. SMITH
CITY HALL REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Robert L. Woodson Sr. knew the thriving Youngstown of the early 1970s through his work at the National Urban League.
The founder of the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise has come to know the struggling Youngstown of today, too, through annual visits the past five years.
The agency trains neighborhood leaders to find solutions that reduce crime and violence, restore families and revitalize urban areas.
The nationally known author and speaker sees recovery in the city today, even if others don't.
Woodson will talk about strategies -- especially reducing youth violence -- to keep the recovery moving during his keynote speech to the Mayor's Task Force on Crime and Violence Prevention.
The task force's annual banquet is at 6 p.m. Oct. 20 at the Youngstown Club downtown. The group will hand out its 2003 Peace Awards that night.
Strategy
Woodson said his agency encourages local agencies to enlist youth and adults who have changed their criminal ways. Such reformed criminals have street credibility but also can inspire troubled youth to change, he said.
Such inspiration multiplies, Woodson said.
"You're building a whole cadre of people," he said. "They are the best ambassadors. They swing other young people to responsibility."
For example, the work of seven such changed people who became mentors in a rough Dallas high school led to reduced violence, increased enrollment and rising test scores, Woodson said.
Respect
The Rev. Willie Peterson, pastor of Gospel Temple Baptist Church in Campbell, has known Woodson since 1998. The Rev. Mr. Peterson is chief executive of the G.T. Community Empowerment Organization, which runs community programs at the Rockford Village public housing complex on the East Side.
Mr. Peterson said he has focused his work on helping the community strengthen families and transform troubled youth. He found a kindred spirit in Woodson.
"Bob preaches that same message. He speaks with passion. He brings a different twist to community healing," Mr. Peterson said.
Woodson focuses on the root of the problem, not just the symptoms, he said.
Creating change is a main goal for the mayor's task force, said the chairman, the Rev. Alfred Coward.
The Rev. Mr. Coward saw Woodson speak passionately at a conference about people changing their own neighborhoods. Mr. Coward agrees fully.
"If I live on Evergreen Avenue, I should be the one to make a change on Evergreen, not somebody from outside," he said.
Mr. Coward said he made bringing Woodson to Youngstown a mission. He enlisted Mr. Peterson to persuade Woodson to waive his speaking fee. The mayor's task force, which has little funding, couldn't afford to pay more than travel costs.
Woodson's message is that important, Mr. Coward said.
"He is a man who will open up our understanding about the need to change," Mr. Coward said.
Peace Awards
Meanwhile, the task force has changed a bit, creating two new categories of Peace Awards this year.
One honors the memory of two people who died recently.
One is Michael Hartzell, the city police officer killed on duty this spring. His family will receive the award in a private ceremony.
Mr. Coward said there was the chance that a ceremony in public could affect pretrial publicity for Hartzell's accused killer, who will be tried soon. The family and task force wanted to avoid any effect on the trial, he said.
The other posthumous honor is for Jennie Revere, a task force volunteer and a leader of the Four Square Block Watch.
The other category -- "If it's to be, it's up to me" -- is a spinoff from last year's keynote speech to the task force. Yvonne Pointer-Triplett, an advocate, author and speaker on raising awareness about violence against children, made the phrase the focus of her speech.
Rochelle Copeland, who improved her life through the drug court program in Mahoning County, receives the first award.