‘THE VIOLENCE HAS TO STOP’ | CIRV hosts intervention to prevent gun violence

YOUNGSTOWN — Individuals involved in city violence heard messages of hope and were offered choices to change their lives Thursday.

The Community Initiative to Reduce Violence hosted a gun violence call-in program at Youngstown Municipal Court.

The program is focused on "at-risk" persons who have been involved in violence, including those on probation or who have had other run-ins with law enforcement.

“Life is all about choices ... choices will give you the opportunity to make the right choice. It’s not too late,” Youngstown Police Department Chief Carl Davis said.

Guy Burney, director of CIRV, said if there aren't interventions now, these individuals might soon become another statistic of the city's violence.

“The message here today is that the violence must stop,” Burney said.

The program had multiple speakers share their personal experiences with gun violence as well as offer resources to help the individuals make the right choices for their future.

“There are choices to be made,” Burney said. “So, all we can do as a community is offer different paths.”

Mayor Jamael Tito Brown, Assistant Attorney from the U.S. Attorney’s Office Yasmine Makridis, Youngstown Law Director Jeff Limbian and Youngstown Deputy Law Director Dana Lantz talked about legal consequences related to gun violence, including the potential charges and time in prison a person could face for possession or use of a firearm.

Amanda Lencyk, trauma injury prevention and outreach coordinator at Mercy Health - St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, spoke about the process of what happens when someone comes to the emergency room with a gunshot wound.

She said the worst part of a trauma is the waiting room, where family and friends wait to hear if a loved one has lived or died.

“The violence has to stop,” Lencyk said, encouraging the individuals to use resources such as Home for Good, Flying High and United Returning Citizens.

Judge Carla Baldwin, administrative and presiding judge of the Youngstown Municipal Court, said the program is an opportunity for the court to open its doors and bring in community resources to lend a hand.

She said the goal of the program is to give those who have been involved in criminal activities the opportunity to move further away from a life of violence.

Baldwin told the 10 individuals that they are the only ones who can change their lives.

“It will likely be the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do,” Baldwin said.

Chief Davis was blunt: “You’re given a choice here today. Let’s stop this violence or continue and face the consequences."

That backdrop of the program Thursday, Davis said, was the increase in gun violence in Youngstown. Since June 6, YPD has reported five shootings.

As a result of the increase in violence, Davis said YPD created the Neighborhood Response Unit and Operation Steel Penguin to reduce violence and remove guns from the streets.

Since May, the Neighborhood Response Unit has seized 66 guns, Operation Steel Penguin has seized 28 guns and 13 guns have been seized from search warrants.

Yet, on Wednesday night, the Youngstown Police Department responded to a report of gunfire at West Boston Avenue and Idlewood Avenue.

A man who was found in a shot-up vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene.

This story was originally published July 16, 2021 at 4:35 AM with the headline "‘THE VIOLENCE HAS TO STOP’ | CIRV hosts intervention to prevent gun violence."