Crime-free zone rallies, marches held citywide

By SEAN BARRON

news@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

An effective tool for combating drug activity and other types of criminal behavior that damage the fabric and quality-of-life concerns in a neighborhood is convincing residents that they have a vested interest and a powerful stake in that neighborhood.

That core theme coursed through a two-hour rally and march called “Youngstown: A Crime Free Zone” on Saturday afternoon at Taft Elementary School, 730 Avondale Ave., on the South Side.

The effort, aimed at reducing crime and further connecting neighbors with one another, was one of four such rallies that featured a variety of speakers.

Representatives and members of 17 South Side neighborhood associations and block-watch groups attended the event at Taft Elementary, a key sponsor of which was the Mahoning Valley Sojourn to the Past organization.

Kira Walker, a Youngstown Early College senior and part of the sojourn organization, acted as mistress of ceremonies. Penny Wells and Diana Gonda, both of whom also are with the organization, organized the program at Taft.

The other three rallies were at Harding and McGuffey elementary schools as well as at East High School.

It’s vital that people realize they are “a pixel of part of a mosaic,” meaning they each have an essential role to play in maintaining and enhancing their neighborhoods and blocks, along with improving life in the city, said Derrick McDowell, who owns The Youngstown Flea, a flea market on the East Side.

“We are going to be out more this summer than last summer. We’re going to take a stronger stance to curb violence,” said officer Phillip Skowron of the Youngstown Police Department.

Also in the works are six-week summer camps for youngsters age 5 to 12, he noted.

Delmas Stubbs, the Mahoning County Veterans Service Commission’s outreach coordinator, explained that another key ingredient toward tackling crime in the city would be to form a local chapter of a national organization called Men Against Destruction Defending Against Drugs and Social disorder (MAD DADS).

MAD DADS, which a small group of men concerned about crime in their neighborhoods started in May 1989 in Omaha, Neb., encourages mainly fathers to serve as role models in neighborhoods often plagued by crime and violence. Chapters also host numerous community gatherings to bring people together, its website says.

“In our own backyard, a shootout on the city’s North Side left a young man dead. Another shootout on the city’s East Side left one young women wounded,” Stubbs said, referring to the killing Tuesday of Savon Young, 25, at a Tod Lane home and the wounding a few hours later of a woman who was shot four times in the 600 block of Kendis Circle but is expected to recover.

Stubbs said people should be “agitated and uncomfortable” with the homicides and other violent crimes that have a corrosive effect on the city.

As a result, it’s imperative that residents are propelled to take direct action rather than reflexively assuming such crimes are an inevitable fact of life in Youngstown, he continued.

“A bullet doesn’t care if it comes through your window,” Stubbs said, adding a call of action partly entails having participants meet regularly with Mayor Jamael Tito Brown, police Chief Robin Lees and others.

Councilman Julius T. Oliver, D-1st, recalled he received poor grades in school, made a series of negative choices during his teen years and was told he would not amount to anything. Nevertheless, positive role models and a strong faith in God helped him d he wants young people to realize they too can be leaders and achievers.

“We have to be a community again. We have to be that village that raises our children again,” said Oliver, who added he later helped a young man who had broken into his mother’s home.

“We, as parents, need to step up. Violence is not acceptable to me. What we instill in our children will be our tomorrows,” said Shirlene Hill, whose son, Jamail Johnson, a Youngstown State University student, was shot to death Feb. 6, 2011, during an off-campus party near the university while ushering others out of harm’s way from the gunfire.

Trina Williams, a community activist who owns A Fresh Wind Catering, said she turned her life around after having made a series of poor and dangerous choices. Young people headed down a wrong path have the capacity to change the course of their lives, she added.

Also during the event, Councilwoman Anita Davis, D-6th, presented a certificate to Helen J. Murray of the Newport Neighborhood Association for her efforts in beautifying, maintaining and improving the quality of life on her block.

In addition, Darien Ballinger accepted a certificate on behalf of his mother, Darla Ballinger, for her service to the 6th Ward.

Other recognition went to John R. Swierz, former councilman, and Jim Locker of the South Avenue Business Association for their efforts toward revitalizing the corridor.

Making additional remarks were Victoria Allen and Vicki Vickers, who represent the ICU Block Watch Association and the Oak Hill Neighborhood Association, respectively.

After the program, about 100 children and adults took part in a 2-square-block march around Taft to promote unity, love and peace. Two participants carried a large sign that read “Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate,” one of the six principles of nonviolence espoused by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.