TOLEDO, Ohio — There's a plan to start a conversation between young people and their parents.
The Believe Center in south Toledo is working to put together a discussion on tough topics, like local gun violence and mass shootings across the country.
It's an effort to create a safe space to talk it out and provide hope. That's because, in this day and age, a day in the life of youth can be tough.
"A lot of the youth are confused. Every time we put on the news or hear word of mouth it's somebody in a shooting, stabbings, a lot of mental health and there's just a lot of confusion and fear, and we don't have a place to voice it," Isaiah Brake, who is an assistant with the Farm Labor Organizing Committee, said.
Brake is a volunteer at The Believe Center where he focuses on mentoring youth.
He says it's hard to find a safe place where they can be heard.
The Believe Center is planning to change that with a Youth Forum this Thursday.
"A place where youth can feel comfortable to kind of voice some of their concerns, some of their issues," Dr. Vincent Riccardi, assistant director at The Believe Center, said. "But more importantly, let them come up with a plan. I just shared with someone saying I had a youth tell me that they didn't think he'd live to 18."
Riccardi says it's a sad reality for the city of Toledo.
Now, they're working with the Farm Labor Organizing Committee to restore hope, after COVID-19, tragedy and loss.
"It's a chance to not only be heard but to hear from other people and bounce off each other, and actually get tools to get what we need done and move forward," Brake said. "Because it's one thing to talk about, but it's another thing to have a plan of action."
He says each child and parent will write their plan down and figure out where to go from here.
"Holistically, you have to look at the whole family unit, if you don't have the support of the adults," Riccardi said. "So we bring them in and let them feel comfortable. In turn, when they see that their child is speaking to us, in turn, there's a lot of mutual respect that is actually given."
The forum will target those hard topics for two hours and create a movement in the right direction.
"One thing I hope, I know this sounds cliche, but change, it has to come. It has to come," Brake said. "And I believe it doesn't happen overnight. This is just one step that will lead to many other steps."
The youth forum is happening Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at The Believe Center, located at 1 Aurora L Gonzalez Drive in south Toledo.
It's free to anyone who wants to join in.
Also happening this weekend at The Believe Center is their carnival, which will be going on from Thursday through Sunday.
