Cleveland was tabbed to lead the campaign which stresses stopping youth violence before it starts, because of its participation and success with the Unity Project, the Urban Network to Increase Thriving Youth.
That and other local initiatives are being credited in part for last year's homicide rate reaching a 50 year low.
Simultaneously, Cuyahoga County is one of only 8 communities nationwide involved in the "Defending Childhood Initiative" project, which could soon receive funding for a national roll out.
The efforts stem from continued studies about the impact of violence on the young.
Carol Rendon is with the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio.
CAROL RENDON - 1st Asst Prosecutor, U.S. Dist Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio
"The exposure to violence interferes with the emotional, the social, and the cognitive development of our children. It also is a predictor of violence later in life."
Embracing the opportunity to lead nationally... Mayor Frank Jackson stressed that Cleveland, and other cities need to view youth violence as a public health issue; rather than a cops-and-courts issue. Dr. Howard Pinderhughes of the University of California at Berkeley says the real success is marrying the two sides.
DR. HOWARD PINDERHUGHES - Univ of California Berkeley, UNITY Consultant
"...law enforcement is working with public health is working with education is working with social services; so that we can truly create strategies that prevent violence before it happens. And that's really the key to our approach, and what we do when we work with cities across the country."
Doctor Linda Rae Murray of the American Public Health Association - and herself a Cleveland native - gives communities and the government credit for some successes, but says more needs to be done to rescue kids from the cycle of violence.
LINDA RAE MURRAY, MD, MPH - American Public Health Association
"We can't give up on our youth. We can't give up on our babies. And so we have to reach out with programs to grab them, even when they're in the jaws of trouble, and pull them back. If we fail to do this, then this city and all of our cities will be in trouble."
The city council, schools, area health systems, and neighborhood groups such as the Guardian Angels were also represented and support the effort to look at violence as a health, rather than a criminal issue.
Rick Jackson,
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