As Akron community members continue to call for answers in the aftermath of a mass shooting that injured 15 young people last week, city officials are offering a possible solution: youth sports.
On Wednesday, Akron Mayor Shammas Malik announced $100,000 in funding to organizations focused on youth sports and wellness programming.
About 50 organizations will receive grants ranging from $1,500 to $5,000, Malik said at a news conference at the Ed Davis Community Center.
“The spirit, the energy, the heart, the passion of everyone working together on this issue – I have no doubt that we are going to address it,” Malik said.
Although the grant program was in the works before the shooting outside Mason Community Learning Center on July 7, Malik said these programs can help the community feel more hopeful about preventing future violence.
“I walked around later that day (of the shooting,) and you could see the blood on the sidewalk, and I talked to a number of folks later that day. It’s easy to feel hopeless, right?” Malik said. “At the end of the day, what we have here is one part of the solution.”
The grants will be used to offset program fees, purchase equipment, train coaches and for safety measures, he said.
Helping the organizations expand their outreach will help kids become more involved, which can decrease violence, City Council President Margo Sommerville added.
“We all know when our young people have positive outlets, whether it’s a basketball court, learning life skills or being mentored by caring adults, it reduces the likelihood of violence,” Sommerville said.
One organization receiving a $2,000 grant is Akron East Youth Football. The program, which has been in the community for more than 60 years, provides a safe space for about 75 to 150 kids each year, director Raymond Sibley said.
“It helps a lot of the kids stay out of trouble, prevent from a lot of crimes in the neighborhood during the day,” Sibley said. “We do things like try to feed them after practice so they don’t go home hungry or anything like that.”
The organization will use their grant to purchase equipment, such as helmets and shoulder pads, and other supplies, booster club president Shawnique Moore added. The money will also help them aid children who want to be involved in the program but can’t afford the fees, she said.
The program provides more than just football and cheerleading, Moore said. The group offers study tables, mentorship and leadership lessons.
“We like to maintain our children to be leaders outside the field, so when they go into the community, hopefully they can help distract some of the issues or even be mentors in their neighborhoods to their field,” Moore said.
Moore believes the community needs to come together and look out for one another to help prevent youth violence, she said.
Providing kids with more opportunities will also help, she said.
“The kids are really, they’re reasonable. I think sometimes they get bored,” Moore said. “We need more things to do.”
Sibley added that the community needs more events and programming with adult supervision.
“Kids don’t tend to act up when they see adult faces around,” Sibley said. “It’s just when they see a lot of their peers and want to act out. I think, like, just being visible more.”
Akron police have not yet made arrests in the Mason CLC shooting but may have information about the investigation to share in the coming days, according to public information officer Lt. Michael Murphy.
The 10 individuals hospitalized after the shooting have since been released, Murphy added.
