TOLEDO, Ohio — Friday marked the last official day for Toledo's leader in fighting gun violence.
JoJuan Armour says he still plans to make sure the program continues as violence interrupters patrol the streets in the Junction-Englewood neighborhood.
"Use to be we would sit on the front porch all night and kick it and talk and everything. Now if you hear the dog bark and you're going back in the house," said Taundra Ezell, who has lived in the Junction-Englewood neighborhood for 63 years.
In the past, her neighborhood has been riddled with violent crime.
She's the great-great-aunt of 10-year-old Damia Ezell, who was shot and killed last month while riding in a car with her uncle.
"Where do we stop? Where does it end? What do we have to do to stop all the violence?" Ezell said.
She says JoJuan Armour, the program manager for Toledo's gun violence reduction initiative, was working to do just that in her neighborhood.
And she's sad to hear he's leaving.
"In this area, we didn't see as much going on as it had been. Because I've been all over, I've seen a lot of things happen, a lot of things going on," Ezell said. "It seemed like it calmed down."
Harold Meeks, who lives right up the street and was raised in the Junction-Englewood area, agrees.
"As of now, I have seen a diminish in crime, in street crime particularly, versus last year," Meeks said.
He believes the program with its "violence interrupters" walking the streets was working.
"I have met the interrupters and I think they are doing a positive deal within their community and they need to keep it up," Meeks said. "Because at least you do have a ear and a voice out there other than the police just speaking."
Toledo Safety Director Brian Byrd says they're looking at options to replace Armour.
It could be someone on the inside or someone on the outside, and they may need to do some restructuring to the program.
The neighbors WTOL 11 spoke with made it clear they want the violence interrupters program to continue, but ultimately they're just hoping the city brings in the right person to fill Armour's shoes.
"What do we need to do to start from here, to continue on the journey he has started us on?" Ezell said. "Because I truly believe there's a journey. It's a journey that we need to continue to travel in order to see some positive things and change in Toledo."