SOUND: Chaos of the first vigil
On a warm autumn evening in November, an angry crowd packed Imperial Avenue. Activists with megaphones stirred things up. And there were plenty of video cameras --- professional and amateur --- documenting it all. A couple days earlier, police had discovered the first of what would be 11 bodies of women, in and around an otherwise plain, white duplex, just a few feet away.
SOUND: fades
One month later, crime scene tape still marks the infamous home of accused serial killer Anthony Sowell, but the crowds and cameras have left. And Sherri Smith of the Mt. Pleasant Ministerial Alliance says some revelations are coming to the surface.
SHERRI SMITH: By these eleven ladies being identified, it's also identified a lot of people, as far as who's really concerned about certain things. Who's looking for media hype? Who's looking to be noticed? Who's looking to be real change agents?
Smith, and her colleague Jeff Bell, are looking to be change agents, by doing the quiet work that doesn't always make the 6:00 news. For instance, in the wake of accusations that police reports on the missing women weren't properly filed, Bell says area residents are going to be coached on their legal rights.
JEFF BELL: We know that some people are intimidated by the police, some people are afraid of the police. We want to educate people into how to make a report, and how to document a report when it's made.
SHERRI SMITH: And then you can hold somebody accountable. Don't be afraid anymore. Because, a lot of times they'll say, "Well I went there and they didn't pay me any attention."
Teresa Matthews of the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center, actually walks people through the complexities of the criminal justice system. She says the personal nature of sexual assault makes it very difficult to document.
TERESA MATTHEWS: This is the most under-reported crime in our country, so it's hard for people to come forward anyway and make a police report. Talking with detectives, back and forth...meeting with prosecutors --- it's time-consuming.
Another agency offering support is the Hitchcock Center, an eastside chemical dependency treatment program. Police investigators claim that Anthony Sowell preyed on women with drug addictions. There are far too few resources for drug addicts in this community, so women often battle their addictions alone. Hitchcock's Debbie Molica says such women battle not only substance abuse, but the perceptions of others.
DEBBIE MOLICA: People in this community truly believe that addiction is still a choice, and it is not. It is a disorder of the brain that's been proven over and over again. There's still some level of blame on these women --- that they put themselves in this position and they were there, because they chose to. And that is absolutely not the case.
The bodies found at Anthony Sowell's house ranged in age from 52 to 25. But, Sherri Smith of the Mt. Pleasant Ministerial Alliance says there are even younger victims. Parents are just starting to report the impact that the murders have had on area children.
SHERRI SMITH: There was a mother that contacted us and said there's a fear that somebody's going to get them --- if you live on Imperial, somebody's going to get you.
In an effort to calm some of those fears, and help rebuild faith in the community, Smith says a luncheon is planned this Saturday for the people who live on Imperial Avenue. The people who did not die. The people who have to go on with their lives, now that the TV cameras are gone.
