The ad opens with a smiling Troy Smith, now quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens, tossing a football...
Troy Smith: I'm NFL Quarterback Troy Smith and I'm teaming up with the city of Cleveland to take a STANCE against drugs and crime...
This ad -- and another like it featuring Smith's former coach and mentor, Tedd Ginn, Sr. -- are part of an effort called STANCE Cleveland. That's Stand Together Against Neighborhood Crime Everyday. It's a rebranding of the multi-agency Anti-Gang Initiative that has transformed Cleveland neighborhoods that just a few years ago were rife with gang activity.
One of those neighborhoods is Hough, where Kasey Morgan works with in the youth services division of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. She says STANCE's anti-gang work has transformed the neighborhood.
Kasey Morgan: Parents in that neighborhood are really getting involved and I think we're noticing that Hey this is a really great area. And I think now that the schools and the communities and the parents are all working together we're going to see some great things.
Right now STANCE is focused on the hough and St. Clair-Superior neighborhoods, and is expanding to include Slavic Village. The STANCE program is just one of six like it across the nation, supported by two and half million dollars in federal funds.