Youngstown leaders’ holiday outreach to families affected by violence

[Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the correct location of the giveaway, the YMCA in Youngstown.]

Youngstown’s very own Mr. and Mrs. Claus delivered gifts to kids impacted by violence who are in need of extra support this holiday season.

Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown and his family members, who played the role of Mr. and Mrs. Claus and Santa’s elves, on Thursday morning gifted 11 families with toys, said William “Guy” Burney, executive director of the Community Initiative to Reduce Violence in Youngstown.

There were gifts for infants, toddlers and teenagers, including: gift cards; shoes; coats, clothing; educational toys; and games donated by nine city organizations and employees, said Carla Gipson, CIRV assistant.

Gipson said families in need of extra support for their kids during the holidays are referred by different agencies and community partners around the city.

“They refer a family who is in need of something special and we do our best to make sure we can accommodate them,” she said.

Gipson said kids must often deal with the consequences of violence, especially the death of a family member — even though they’re not at fault.

“[Violence] affects finances, where they live, whether the children are able to eat and takes them out of their homes,” she said.

Burney said his community-based violence intervention program lowers the rate of violence in Youngstown, and connects people with resources to choose a different path.

“We’ve seen people employed; young people take different paths. … So we know [this program] works,” he said.

Some families in the gift-giving initiative this year faced domestic violence, murder, gun violence or arson, both Burney and Gipson said.

“We have one young person who lost both of his parents to violence,” Burney said. “We just hope to bring some hope and cheer to let them know someone cares about them.”

Michael, an 8-year-old Youngstown resident, waited for Santa to arrive with gifts outside the YMCA in Youngstown. He said he’s been good this year, and a YMCA employee agreed. Mahoning Matters has changed the child’s name to protect his identity.

Michael’s aunt brought him to the after-school care program at YMCA in Youngstown two years ago and his caregiver Olivia Murphy, youth and teen program director at the YMCA, said he’s been helpful and caring.

“He always thinks he’s been good this year, and he definitely [has been] good,” she said. “I was just telling him on Monday how nice he was for helping me clean up.”

Murphy said she hopes Michael reflects on these memories to remember people who cared for him during tough times.

“It just means a lot to him just to feel that there are people looking out for him and stuff like that,” she said. “[His aunt] was really grateful when we orchestrated this for him and she was really happy [the city] would do something like this for him.”

Mayor Brown said this initiative is the highlight of each year for him.

“This is one of my highlights of being [Youngstown’s] mayor. … Mr. and Mrs. Claus can get out and do something like this,” he said. “Just seeing the faces of the families because they’ve been through so much.”

Brown said he hopes kids impacted by violence know they’re not alone.

“Just to give them some hope and let them know that people out there care for them,” he said. “It’s a great feeling. … It’s when you get up every day and make an impact around the holiday season.”

This story was originally published December 23, 2021 at 2:49 PM.