Time for Learning and Action
Participants in the January 2025 Neighbors in Action community violence interruption training with Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance
March 2025: A Time for Learning and Action
This week, we celebrated and shared the Neighbors in Action: Courageous Conversations for a Safer Euclid final report from our Nov. 2024 community listening sessions. During these sessions, nearly 150 residents came together at three different locations to discuss their experiences around gun violence, identify the existing assets that would make for a safer community, and connect residents across lines of difference to participate in courageous conversations as a community.
These milestone events signal our group’s movement into Phase 2 of our work — as both the Hope Task Force community leaders group and the Neighbors in Action resident group. Hope Task Force member organizations continue to meet once per month, the second Monday of each month at 8:00 a.m. The Neighbors in Action resident gatherings continue to be held in the evening on the second and fourth Tuesdsay of each month — and both groups connect regularly with the Community Innovation Network.
As a community, we have also begun to learn about the programs and strategies that have worked in other communities to reduce violence and that we are considering for our shared vision for a safe community. These “Education and Action” listening sessions (link here for the full calendar) occur on the 4th Tuesday of each month.
January’s session featured a resident training in Community Violence Intervention strategies led by the Cleveland Peacemakers Alliance. In February, we explored Restorative Justice practices during a film night with the Restorative Justice Working Group, facilitated by Kathleen McDonnell, who spent 18 years as a Mediation Coordinator at Euclid High School. Euclid’s student mediation program was discontinued due to funding issues in 2016. The movie viewing and follow-up discussion uncovered renewed interest in bringing the principles of restorative justice back to our community.
Could restorative justice be one of the strategies Euclid city leaders pursue as part of our shared vision for a safer community? We hope so.
Below is an outline of the four phases of community engagement that we’ve undertaken with our partners at the Case Western Reserve University Community Innovation Network, with the completed phases highlighted in yellow.
ENGAGING THE COMMUNITY TO REDUCE GUN VIOLENCE IN EUCLID OHIO
Facilitated by Dr. Mark Chupp, Community Innovation Network, Case Western Reserve University
Listening and Connecting with Community: Hold 3 facilitated listening sessions where community members shared in small groups in response to prompted questions. The 3 listening sessions were held in different parts of the city to engage a large group of diverse and demographically representative residents. — COMPLETED
Sharing what we learned: Reconnect with residents who attended the listening sessions in phase 1 to report back what we heard and share research about ways communities have effectively dealt with the key issues raised by residents. A second interactive session will invite residents to learn about local resources that build community and prevent youth violence. — IN PROCESS
Envisioning a Safer Future: Facilitate a process for residents and community leaders to collectively develop a shared vision and strategic priorities for addressing the issues they identified in Phase 1 and build on the research in Phase 2. — TO DO
Taking Steps to Implement our Shared Vision: Steward the implementation of the shared vision. The Community Innovation Network will provide facilitation for this steering committee for 6 months to ensure that the vision moves forward into implementation. — TO DO