CLEVELAND — Youth violence is on the rise throughout Northeast Ohio and the country including physical fights, threats of violence at school, and guns. Earlier this month, six students were arrested and four loaded handguns were recovered after a large fight outside of Euclid High School.
Now, there is a major push to help reduce youth violence in our homes, streets, and schools. Glenville High School is hosting a “Stop the Violence” rally Saturday, Oct. 1 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event is free. Though, you must pre-register.
Find more information and register for the event here.
From anger management to how to recover from loss, there will be workshops hosted by various local programs and groups, including Winning Against Violent Environments (W.A.V.E). The program has been an asset to the Cleveland Metropolitan School District since 1982 as part of “Humanware.”
According to the district’s website, “Humanware was born following a school shooting at Success High School. A 14-year-old student shot and wounded two students and two teachers and then turned the gun on himself. The initial response was to make everyone safe by installing hardware such as metal detectors, wands, and extra security officers in the buildings. However, it was recognized that along with the hardware something had to be done to change attitudes and perceptions of humans. As a result, Humanware was born to work in conjunction with the hardware to make everyone safe.”
W.A.V.E Specialist, Antonio Sanford, started training to be a W.A.V.E in the fourth grade.
“I went to Martin Luther King High School where I was a student mediator and a student trainer. That’s how I got this job after graduating high school
Sanford says W.A.V.E taught him that “conflict is normal and natural.”
“It’s part of life. It just is. It’s always going to be there…and violence itself is a learned behavior.”
But Sanford says violence can be unlearned even despite outside factors and personal circumstances. W.A.V.E teaches conflict resolution through peer-student mediation from fourth to 12 grade.
“We talk about interpersonal conflict, intrapersonal conflict. We talk about how and why problems escalate and the feelings that are involved with and how to deal with your feelings, said Sanford. “Some people just don’t have that mechanism to be able to talk out their problems because sometimes it’s just that. It’s just that release to say you know I’m feeling really angry today or I’m feeling really sorry today or anything like that.”
Jayslen Martinez, an eighth grader at Dennison Middle School, joined W.A.V.E in the fifth grade.
“I was really introverted, and I only had like two friends,” Martinez shared. “I can articulate my feelings better and I like helping people around me…it just feels better to know that our school environment is better without all of the conflicts.”
Students who are interested in joining W.A.V.E can sign up at their school.
