Cleveland has identified a new public health crisis: gun violence.
For several years, gun violence has been the leading cause of death among children and teens in the U.S. Though homicides and violent crime are down city- and nationwide, public safety and illegal guns on city streets remain a chief concern for leaders and residents.
"A lot of this is happening in areas where people are having challenges as far as living in survival mode," said Richard Starr, Cleveland's Ward 5 council member, who sponsored the legislation. "That's where you start to say, 'Well, what are we doing? What are we doing to help people up? How do we get them out of this mindset? How do you get them out of survival mode?'"
Starr, who represents the neighborhoods of Central, Kinsman, Midtown and parts of Downtown and Slavic Village, grew up in public housing and said he's witnessed violence firsthand all his life. In his capacity as a community activist and a council member, he said he's worked to be a mentor to young people to identify the root causes of gun violence.
Starr said crime is often linked to other social factors, such as housing and food insecurity or inadequate access to education and recreation.
"Violence and gun violence is a direct correlation of lack of resources as well. Sometimes you people be out robbing people, stealing things and shooting up stuff because they need something that someone else has," said Starr in an interview with Ideastream. "This is raising the alarm, setting the groundwork and now we say, 'What do we actually need to do?'"
Mayor Justin Bibb has also identified public safety as a top priority of his administration. He has worked to partner with state and federal law enforcement to crack down on violent crime and offered pay raises and relaxed policies on beards and tattoos in an effort to recruit police officers.
Bibb's administration also put $10 million of the city's pandemic relief dollars into a Neighborhood Safety Fund, which doles out about $1 million each year to community groups working on violence prevention across various disciplines.
Starr said that's a good start, but the city needs to invest more.
"People always scream when they hear 'violence'... 'Hey, we need more police officers, we need police officers.' But they're reactive, they're not proactive," Starr said.
Starr said he hopes the declaration aligns leaders on the urgency of the problem and that it lays the groundwork to bring in community partners to develop a strategic plan.
City Council also this week approved a resolution declaring May 1 through 7 as Gun Violence Survivors Week in Cleveland.
