TOLEDO, Ohio — The City of Toledo wants to hear ideas and concerns from its youth on violence in the Glass City.
The "Youth be Heard" sessions were created to find out more about issues regarding violence that young people are facing.
Participants at a meeting Monday night at the Washington Branch Library discussed mostly safety and education, as well as solutions, in the City of Toledo's second session of its kind.
Attendees said they understand violence is a community-wide issue and it doesn't matter what your zip code is. When it affects one of us, it affects all of us.
"Obviously, the gun control aspect and the gun violence is a huge issue in Toledo, let alone the whole world," participant Brysen Davis said.
"I think we're seeing the same things from all of the kids, which is basically they really want us to focus on the violence issues, gun violence in particular," Danielle Cisterino, the city's commissioner of youth services, said. "We definitely heard some things about health and mental wellness, so I think kids are all seeing the same things no matter what zip code they live in."
Homicides in Toledo have seen a stark rise since 2020. There were 62 recorded homicides in 2020, compared to 35 in 2019.
The city's Youth Program Coordinator, Daveion Beach, said the violence in Toledo has had an impact on these kids and will influence their actions in the future.
"The youth are the future and the present," Beach said. "I think it's important to hear what the youth have to offer our city to make it better for them. They're going to be the ones living in it and growing up."
If the city is able to create programs or put support behind anti-violence education and mental health initiatives, it could go a long way. The goal is to implement some of the solutions from the "Youth Be Heard" sessions in the next couple of months, Beach said.
"I think that it's so important for young kids to develop the skills necessary to be successful in the adult world," Davis said. "To start them off young can give them a step-up when it's time for them to start looking for careers and start to make their living."
The city is hosting four more sessions. The next session is Tuesday from 4:30-6 p.m. at the Birmingham Branch Library.