TOLEDO, Ohio —
The Lucas County Board of Health is creating an ad hoc committee to take a public health approach to addressing violence, just months after the U.S. surgeon general declared gun violence a public health crisis.
Violence is not a new issue in the area, and neither is trying to address it. The board is working to support current programs the city and the health department have, according to Toledo-Lucas County Health Department's health commissioner, Karim Baroudi.
TLCHD started a school safety task force almost a year ago.
"Our goal is to pull everyone together to work collaboratively together to mitigate threats before they ever become threats," child wellness manager Melissa Lanier said. "Really looking at concerns with youth early on and being able to help provide resources and support to those youth."
The announcement of the committee comes just weeks after city leaders said there has been a decrease in homicides and persons shot compared to this time last year.
By putting initiatives and resources together, Baroudi said the health department will take an intentional step toward reducing violence.
The committee is comprised of educators, public health experts and community leaders who will look at different factors like housing, economic stability and education.
Baroudi said one focus of the committee is youths and their access to weapons.
He said it's not just about proper storage and education, though, but also looking for signs of violence and behavioral changes that may trigger violence.
"They want to go to the root cause," Baroudi said. "We want try to find what's triggering that and if we can address those at that level, I think we'll be able to prevent a lot down the stream there."
Baroudi said the committee also wants to work closely with law enforcement, social services and government. He said it's about bringing "everybody to the table" to better deal with violence.