The Euclid Hope Task Force has submitted a request for funding to the City of Euclid with the intention of using the money to help prevent gun violence.
The task force is a group of about 30 community stakeholders in Euclid, including police and fire chiefs, the Board of Health, and many others. The goal is to use their resources to stop crime.
“This group was formed really out of three angry moms who got tired of receiving text messages and news reports and said, ‘We gotta do something about it,’" said Taneika Hill, co-founder of Euclid Hope Task Force.
Wednesday night, the task force went before the city council to ask for more than $20,000 to fund its mission.
The funding request is still under review in committee but could be voted on later this month.
“It’s going to take more than just one person or one group to do it; we need to filter out, just like you drop a stone in a puddle of water, we need to have the ripple approach,” said Kandace Jones, with the task force.
Jones is a former Euclid councilwoman. She told News 5 that the violence she sees in her community is an issue that needs to be addressed head-on and with unity.
“The police are more of a reactive; the community needs to be involved to help deter the activities that are going on as well, as we are talking about children in school; it takes a community,” Jones said.
Right now, Hill said the task force is amidst listening sessions with community members to learn what they want to see change. The task force hopes to eventually offer things like violence mediation services, counseling, and many other tactics in schools to address the root causes of gun violence.
“It gets tiresome hearing about your friends and friends’ children being impacted by gun violence," Hill said.
