TOLEDO, Ohio — JoJuan Armour's been on the job now for 50 days. That job is to combat gun violence in Toledo.
"We're not trying to re-invent the wheel, we don't have time before summer to do that, so we want to make sure we can extend the reach of those who are redirecting the trajectory of some of our youth," Armour said.
Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz announced JoJuan's appointment to the newly-created job in February.
JoJuan said from the start, he'd need 100 days to dive in.
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He says he wants to lift up the programs like Pathways, Big Brothers, Big Sisters and Harbor that are already doing good in their neighborhoods and build from there.
"There's been a huge demographic of kids that have been lost in the process virtually and it's providing these resources and providing activities and keeping them engaged, giving them something to do," Armour said.
The former pro-football player wants to hit this issue from all sides.
He says he knows what he's looking for when he hires a team of violence interrupters, people who can be at the scene of shootings to cool tensions and prevent retaliation.
Armour also wants to start a social-emotional learning program so kids are developing conflict resolution skills at school.
It's a program that started in Atlanta and is now used in more than 40 states.
Armour hopes that with the classroom approach, the violence interrupters and improving community programs he can reduce the number of vigils and funerals he goes to, held after each teen death on the streets.
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