CINCINNATI — As we head into the summer, local faith leaders unveiled safety plans focused on tackling systemic issues that contribute to violence in the Cincinnati area.
The community conversation was led by leaders with the Amos Project, a nonprofit focused on organizing with "the most vulnerable in our communities" for racial and economic justice.
"The main thing is to create opportunities where (young people) feel empowered, where they see that their voices matter, that they see that they do have input," Bishop Sunni James said.
WATCH: Here's how faith leaders, in their own words, plan to tackle summer safety through community involvement
The call to action came at a Juneteenth event attended by around two dozen people. Pastor Lesley Jones, Amos executive director, presented the plan after another speaker went over recent crime trends in Cincinnati.
Do you have specific concerns or questions you'd like answered about safety? Are you working on violence prevention efforts this summer? We'd like to hear from you. Email me at connor.steffen@wcpo.com.
Here's a breakdown of the Amos summer safety plan:
- June —
- Host a county-wide faith & safety summit
- Map faith-based safety anchors in Cincinnati neighborhoods
- Coordinate further plans with community violence intervention (CVIP) and youth justice academy leaders
- July —
- Host ten or more listening sessions with faith communities
- Launch an online faith-based safety resource hub
- Organize four peace weekends containing events like youth forums, vigils and interfaith events
- Launch a youth justice academy–summer cohort
- August —
- Host evaluation forums with clergy, youth and outreach workers
- Collect and document success stories and outcomes
- Develop year-round plans for CVIP expansion, youth justice academy cohorts and continued interfaith/ grassroots collaboration
- Publish a community safety summer report
If you are interested in being a part of the solution, you can contact Amos team members by heading to its website, or contact Jones at lesley@ohorganizing.org.
"They understand how we feel, how we communicate with each other, so much that it's like we're family," the bishop's daughter and namesake, Sunni James, said of the gathering on Thursday. "We can't celebrate outdoors, because there are things going on. But here we just celebrate. We talk, have fun, communicate, listen to music, whatever we want to do, and it's a safe thing that we come to."
James, an incoming eighth grader at Norwood Middle School, said the most crucial part of cultivating youth engagement this summer will be making sure their voices are heard.
"(A) lot of younger kids, I know they feel like adults don't understand them, they don't really connect with them," said the younger James. "Get out there more. Talk to some kids. Maybe have kids involved in Amos and called into action."
