Plan to end gun violence says it's symptom of larger issue, economic inequality

WEST END, Ohio (WKRC) - Brian Garry has seen the impact gun violence has firsthand.

Garry was there when Ernest Crear was shot and killed next to the Avondale “Peace Bowl” in 2007. And in 2014, William Moritz died at the end of Garry’s driveway after being shot.

Garry is pushing the community to help develop a plan to end deadly gun violence that's plaguing several neighborhoods in the city.

"We have everyone from teachers, counselors, students. Last meeting, we had the entire Avondale Youth Council. We have everyday citizens," Garry said.

He says gun violence is a symptom of a larger problem and it all comes down to money.

"Where the communities are less affluent, we have gun violence. So, we have to attribute a lot of the gun violence to economic issues," Garry said. "If you erased poverty, you will go a long, long way to erasing gun violence.”

The plan is simple: Put more resources in Cincinnati's poorer neighborhoods. That means more health centers, including mental health treatment, and mentorship programs for young children to keep them on the right path.

"Each and every one of us has to do something. Each and every one of us can mentor a young person. Each and every one of us can reach out and allow a young person to do some work around our house to mentor them,” Garry said.

It also means more investment in schools and teaching young kids there is a career path for them.

"I think we see a lot of hopelessness, and I think we feel a large dropout rate because of the hopelessness because we don't see a pipeline to a successful career," Garry said.

More kids graduating means better trained students who can go to college or get into a good paying trade job.

“It's a failure on our behalf that our kids don't have hope, and if they are resorting to gun violence and that they're resorting to illegal means to try to make money for themselves and for their families. So, we need to provide those opportunities and we can do that as a city,” Garry said.

The plan needs money from the city. Money, he says, is there if the city is willing to commit and will give a better return on investment than anything else the city could spend it on.

Garry knows even if he does get the city to buy in, it will take time to change the communities.

"Our city did not become where half of the people living on our city or living in poverty -- that didn't happen overnight. Then the solution is not going to occur overnight. We have to be realistic," Garry said.

There is a meeting Thursday evening at the West End YMCA on Linn Street. It starts at 6:30 if you want to have a voice in ending the gun violence.

“My viewpoint is we should raise up the most vulnerable members of our society because when you raise them up, you heal them, and you heal all of us. If one person is healed, we're all healed, and, similarly, if one person is harmed, then we are all harmed, and if one person is lost, then we've all lost something as a community,” Garry said.

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