43
Groups rally for peace in Youngstown
By Sean Barron
YOUNGSTOWN
Vernisha Tucker continues to mourn the loss of her son, Tywan D. Tillis, who was 29 when he was shot to death May 4, 2004, in a car near Overland and Willis avenues on the South Side.
“You can get through it, but you never get over it,” she said about the pain associated with such a tragedy.
On the other hand, it warms her heart to see efforts aimed at bringing neighbors and the community closer together that also help young people more fully realize that they’re valued and loved.
Tucker, a member of We Walk by Faith Bible Church on the East Side, was among those of all ages who attended Saturday’s Increase the Peace rally at Beulah Baptist Church, 570 Sherwood Ave., on the South Side.
The free, two-hour event was the last of 13 such gatherings this summer throughout the city that offered messages of hope and peace to many city residents. Also provided were resources to those in need of various services.
Sponsoring the rally were the Jericho Project, the Community Initiative to Reduce Violence organization and NOW Youngstown, a Christian-based group that patterns itself after a passage in 2 Corinthians that talks about God’s willingness to save those who seek him.
In addition, Saturday’s peace rally featured plenty of food, games and activities for children and entertainment that included gospel music and a mime group’s performance.
Tucker said her son was “a people-person who was always polite and smiling.” One way she has channeled her grief has been to offer prayers in many city neighborhoods, she explained.
Helping to take on a similar effort is Rose Wilkins, a Beulah Baptist Church parishioner and three-year NOW Youngstown member.
“We’re tired of the crime and the killings. We’re going all over the city to encourage people to find out about God,” she said.
Wilkins added that she feels Youngstown is moving in the right direction, but greater employment opportunities likely would mean less crime. The need for healing messages to go out citywide continues, she added.
The type of leadership people such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. exemplified that unified many for certain goals and causes during the civil-rights movement in the 1950s and ’60s is sorely lacking today, said Annette Pack, another Beulah Baptist Church member.
One consequence has been a void that has led to many children having to “make their own decisions minute-by-minute,” added Pack, who’s also an educational assistant with the Youngstown City Schools.
“This event shows that someone cares,” she said about Saturday’s peace rally.
It takes a community-wide effort to counteract the effects of gang violence and other forms of crime, noted the Rev. Martha Taylor, pastor of Metro Assembly of God who also is a NOW Youngstown member.
It’s not enough for people to say they care about others; that must be supplemented with constructive actions and deeds, the Rev. Mrs. Taylor said.
Events such as the peace rallies positively change the atmosphere in many city neighborhoods by offering God’s teachings, along with a variety of wrap-around services, noted the Rev. Al Yanno, who is also with NOW Youngstown.
At the rallies, agencies such as the Mahoning Youngstown Community Action Partnership, Teen Challenge and Eastern Gateway Community College’s TRIO EOC program have provided assistance to those who have addiction problems, unplanned pregnancies and plans to attend college, he continued.
“We want to send out the message that we want people to become peacemakers, not peace breakers,” the Rev. Mr. Yanno added.