Community group hopes to reach young people in Short North
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Following last weekend’s mass shooting in the Short North, local faith-based and community leaders are teaming up.
Happening this weekend, community members will gather to walk around the Short North from midnight until 2 a.m.
Organizers of the event said that nothing good happens after midnight, so they hope that being outside and being present will deter any violence that may happen.
“We know this area does get busy and we know what has happened in the past, and we just want to be preventive on things before it gets any further out of control, because there's a lot of people strolling up and down the streets at night time,” Jacob Gaus, the general manager of Michael’s Goody Boy, said.
Gaus said that late at night, people, especially the youth, like to gather around and near his business. So, faith leaders and community partners will be doing the same thing.
“We're going to sit around, we're going to walk around, and we're going to be a purposeful parental, model presence,” Eddie Parker, a pastor at The Word Church, said. “We are not playing community patrol. We're not playing police. Just a purposeful presence.”
Parker said anyone who passes by will be given things as well, like t-shirts, sunglasses and multiple resources to help give them hope.
“It's going to be the biggest hangout,” Parker said. “Just be here with us and if you see a young person, we're not preaching to them. We're not lecturing them, we're just talking to them.”
Overall, the goal of the event is to protect the youth. Both Gaus and Parker believe it’s their responsibility to help navigate them in the right direction.
“Once they know someone cares, youth don't care how much you know until they know how much you care, and they know what they're doing wrong and they are unsupervised youths,” Parker said. “And what they need is some parental figures. They need someone that's going to be present where they are.”
People will gather at the corner of 4th and High streets Friday at midnight. They will all be wearing white t-shirts and hanging out outside. Organizers hope to continue this effort throughout the summer.