Forum to attack violence in Youngstown attracts only 7

Forum to attack violence in Youngstown attracts only 7

news@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Pastor Cecil Monroe didn’t see what he’d hoped for when he looked across the East High School auditorium Sunday afternoon, but it was a start.

Only seven people – including Pastor Monroe’s wife and three young children – attended an event he’d planned, aimed at trying to bring about an end to the violence and killing that has plagued the city. He was hoping for many more.

“I can’t say I’m not discouraged about the turnout because I am,” Monroe told the small audience. “But I still choose to make a difference, and I’m going to continue with my efforts. This turnout is not indicative of the severity of our problem. This problem is severe.”

Monroe, 43, pastor of Higher Learning Church in Canfield, said concern over the rash of homicides in Youngstown this year pushed him to plan Sunday’s meeting, which he called “The War On Youth Violence (The Battle for a Violence-Free City). He chose East High School because he lives on the East Side, and because one of the recent homicides happened on that side of town.

“It’s like we are on a killing rampage in the city,” Monroe said, noting that in five of the city’s 22 homicides this year, black males age 14 or younger have been charged with the crimes. “We have kids killing kids. We need to stop it. We have had our share of killing.”

Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com.