TOLEDO, Ohio — For the first time, we're hearing from the man tasked with fighting gun violence in Toledo after he resigned.
JoJuan Armour explains why he's leaving, and he's shedding light on the issues he faced.
It's been about a year since Armour first began the difficult journey to curb violence in the city. On Monday, he shared with WTOL 11 reporter Roxanne Elias that he feels like he could have had more support.
But he's aiming to create an atmosphere of hope with the progress he's already made.
"It was really eye-opening how fast young people are to just embrace death and it's scary," Armour said.
Armour is sharing first-hand what he's witnessed on the streets of Toledo.
About a year ago, Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz appointed him as the program manager for Toledo's gun violence reduction initiative.
He sent his letter of resignation on Feb. 28, with the city citing family reasons for Armour's departure.
He says that's a big part of it, but there's more to the story.
"Just the barriers of political government on a variety of issues. But more so just to, I feel that it's just more accepted. I didn't take the position for the money. I didn't take the position for notoriety or the publicity," Armour said. "I took the position to create change."
Armour feels he did create that change.
During Phase One of the initiative, homicide numbers in the Junction/Englewood neighborhoods dropped 66% from 2020 to 2021.
In 2017, those numbers were going the other way.
"The goal is to create an atmosphere of safety and without promoting success, it's very difficult. It's very difficult to get individuals to change the negativity that they see, that's more promoted," Armour said.
He says he wishes issues could have been addressed immediately and that the program could have moved into new neighborhoods more quickly.
We asked him if he felt he had enough backing from the mayor.
But after a long pause, he declined to answer that question.
Although his time is over, Armour plans to work with Safety Director Brian Byrd and Deputy Safety Director Angel Tucker.
He wants to make sure the programs he was involved with continue and he's leaving this advice for whoever takes over.
"Rely on your partnerships. Rely on community. 'cause change is gonna come from within," Armour said. "When dollars fall short and budgets fall to pieces, it's gonna be those relationships that are able to continue programming."
It's those partnerships and programming that Armour says can make the program effective and sustainable for a long time.
We talked with Toledo's new safety director Brian Byrd after Armour announced sent in his resignation. Byrd said Armour got the program up and running, and it'll keep running.
The city is evaluating what it will look like moving forward.
You can watch Armour's entire interview below: