TOLEDO, Ohio — Reverend Stephen Swisher is a founding member of the Coalition for Peaceful Toledo Neighborhoods, which works to curb gun violence in Toledo so the 58 homicides this year don't continue climbing.
Swisher said the main goal of the coalition is engagement through not just talking about issues, but acting on them.
"People have been dying and we just have to insert hope, we have to invest hope in this community," Swisher, a pastor at Epworth United Methodist, said. "People are depressed, they're discouraged, there's nothing we can do, well that's not true, there is something that we can do."
Other members of the coalition include past Toledo mayors Carty Finkbeiner, Donna Owens, Mike Bell and Paula Hicks-Hudson. Toledo City Council members Katie Moline and George Sarantou are also in the coalition, among local civic and business leaders as well as victims and families who have been affected by gun violence.
"We're talking about a cross-section of society, who just feel like inaction is an insult to the community to just say nothing about it," Swisher said of the coalition's members.
He said they want to motivate other leaders in the city to come up with strategies, and he said recently they received 150 suggestions on what to do with parenting being one of the most suggested.
"Supporting parents, training for parents, helping kids after school, these are the most common (suggestions)," Swisher said.
The group has a handful of other strategies to employ, like community policing, which involves introducing police to store owners and people in the community so they're not afraid of each other.
Swisher also wants to bring back block watch programs because the number of them have declined over the years, he said
"Most of us don't even know who our neighbors are," Swisher said. "Let's meet our neighbors and say, 'hey, we're going to watch out for you when you aren't even home. We're going to watch out for your property, we're going to watch out for your kids.' Let's just have that community aspect."
Most importantly, he said the coalition wants a city resolution against gun violence and more transparency from city officials.
"We're not going to throw stones at each other, we're not going to criticize each other, we're all going to come together to say, 'hey, let's all support one another, and let's make the community safer," Swisher
For more information or to give suggestions, email info@epworth.com. Swisher said the coalition's next meeting will be Nov. 16 at 5:30 p.m. at United Methodist Church at 3613 Monroe St.