Residents living with crime must participate in cleanup

It isn’t easy for law-abiding citizens to watch as their neighborhoods deteriorate because of crime, but taking on the gangbangers, drug dealers and other scofflaws is easier said than done.

As details of various homicides have shown, criminals who have turned neighborhoods into veritable war zones are better armed and possess firepower that could overwhelm many law enforcement agencies in this area.

And, as the mercury rises, so will criminal activity — especially in the Valley’s two largest communities, Youngstown and Warren. But that does not mean residents are powerless to do anything. No, they don’t have to confront the gangbangers, but they can take part in the battle being waged by city governments and grass-roots organizations.

Last Sunday, one of the most powerful and active community-based organizations in the region delivered a message of hope to those whose lives are in a state of flux: Tell us what’s going on in your neighborhoods, and we’ll work with law enforcement and other agencies to address the problems.

After nine years, ACTION — Alliance for Congregational Transformation Influencing Our Neighborhoods — has a track record of taking on seemingly impossible tasks and getting results.

ACTION is a coalition of 16 local congregations and community groups whose mission is to build a multiethnic, multiracial, interfaith organization. It has been developing strategies to reduce poverty, create safe and stable neighborhoods and improve the quality of life in the Valley.

Hot spots

Thus, in the push to clean up neighborhoods, the group is urging residents to fill out “hot spot” cards that are available at the Public Library of Youngstown and Mahoning County.

The cards should document crimes or suspected criminal activities and be sent to ACTION’s office. Officials will then forward them to law enforcement agencies.

The Rev. Leonard Williams, chairman of ACTION’s Crime and Safety Committee, told the 400 or so officeholders, law enforcement personnel, community and neighborhood leaders and others who attended a public meeting last Sunday at St. Charles Church in Boardman that citizen participation is just one aspect of the crime-fighting initiative.

Police, elected officials, churches and the community must also actively participate.

The Rev. Mr. Williams is right. We are all in this together — city dwellers and suburbanites, working people and retirees, young and old.

The crime that has been concentrated in Youngstown and Warren is spreading to the suburbs.

Thus, when Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams told the gathering that a regional approach to these and other problems is not only necessary, but has worked successfully in other parts of the country, he was echoing the sentiments of a growing number of Valley residents.

No one is denying that there are problems in Youngstown and Warren that are unique to older urban areas, but it is foolhardy to believe that they can be confined to the city limits.