Collinwood Area Faith Based Groups Meet to Discuss Safety

On January 31 the Collinwood Neighborhood Catholic Ministries along with Councilman Michael Polensek, 5th District Police Safety Liaison Greg Pollard and the Collinwood Pastoral Association met to discuss the recent upsurge of violent shootings and murders that have occurred in the area within the past six months.

As a result of the presentation and discussion, they adopted a plan of action and have scheduled another meeting for Wednesday, February 28th from 2:30 – 4:00 at Saint Mary’s Slovenian Room.

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The Action Plan is only the beginning of a commitment to work together as a positive manifestation of light and wholeness while continuing to be a blessing and a sign of God’s presence in this area.

1.        We each promised to pray with our congregations, constituents and neighbors for a non- violent end to this violence.   

2.       The Salvation Army will host a monthly prayer hour for Collinwood and our neighboring municipalities. 

3.       We will talk about ways to curb violence with our clients and congregations.

4.       We will flood the City of Cleveland and neighboring municipalities with letters asking for more support for our citizens safety.

5.       We will meet again on February 28th   from 2:30 – 4:00 at St. Mary’s 15519 Holmes. All interested parties are invited.

6.       We will plan a future meeting with City officials to discuss our safety concerns and ways we can request more assistance from the city of Cleveland and other municipalities.

The group met again on February 28th.  At that time, attendees heard from Hank Davis who has worked with gangs to stem violence and brainstormed ways to help make Collinwood a safer community.

During the March 21st meeting the group decided to focus on youth. The following action steps were adopted:

v  Put together a panel on juvenile justice for next meeting.

v  Contact Boys and Girls Clubs regarding the possibility of collaboration

v  Collaborate with MyCom

v  Participate in the Walk for Safety on March 30th