No Stray Bullets
On Monday afternoon, around the corner from Shoreview Elementary School, a 10-year-old student was shot in the arm shortly after school let out for the day. She was the innocent victim of someone else’s dispute involving a gun. A stray bullet. The student, family, schoolmates, teachers, and staff at Shoreview have access to counselors for emotional support, and our community’s prayers for healing and peace are ongoing.
Gun violence in our neighborhoods is not acceptable.
Rev. Rosalind Hughes, priest at Euclid’s Church of the Epiphany, reminds us that there are no stray bullets. “Calling a bullet stray, like a wandering and mangy dog, is akin to brushing off the offense without regard to healing the conditions that gave rise to it. Justice is not just a matter of calling the bullet-owner to account. It is coming to terms with our loose culture of bullet ownership.”
When a child is injured, it brings home even more clearly that we have work to do to make our community safer for all. Over the Labor Day weekend, members and allies of the Euclid HOPE Task Force gathered to learn about Community Violence Interruption (CVI) strategies and practical steps to reduce violence among us.
We invite everyone in the Euclid community to commit to ending gun violence in our midst. Our children deserve nothing less. What does that mean for Euclid?
Ideas currently being considered include:
Expert Help — Outside experts can help us conduct community studies to pinpoint individuals who are most at risk of committing violence so we can implement CVI strategies and interrupt the cycle of violence.
Trained Violence Interrupters — Placement of violence interrupters in our schools, who are highly visible to students, offering safe passages to students, particularly after school, decreasing the likelihood that outsiders would feel comfortable engaging in violence around our schools.
Neighbor Nights — Regular gatherings of residents and community members who come together to meet one another, build trust, support one another, get connected to good, timely information, and work on issues they care about in their neighborhoods. This is a great way to foster the connections and power needed to build a safer community.
For more information, call 440-668-4104, email connect@hopetaskforce.org or visit hopetaskforce.org. Our first Neighbor Night meeting will take place from 6-7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, at Church of the Epiphany, 21000 Lakeshore Blvd., Euclid, OH.
CONTRIBUTORS:
Rev. Rosalind Hughes, Church of the Epiphany
Angela & LaRon Douglas, ReNounce DeNounce Violence Intervention
Pam Turos, co-chair, HOPE Task Force
Emily Holody, co-chair, HOPE Task Force
Taneika Hill, co-chair, HOPE Task Force