New anti-violence program uses education to solve conflict
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Safer Together 614 aims to curb violence with education and resources. Illustration: Lindsey Bailey/Axios
Columbus is launching a new city program to take a more holistic approach to reducing community violence.
Why it matters: Safer Together 614 aims to curb conflict including gun violence, which Mayor Andrew Ginther declared a Columbus public health crisis in 2022.
Driving the news: The program is the newest initiative of Columbus' Office of Violence Prevention.
- OVP director Rena Shak tells Axios that 30% of local homicides in 2024 were due to unresolved conflicts or arguments.
- She suspects that percentage may be even higher with assaults and domestic violence.
What they're doing: Informed by that research and community feedback, the program will distribute toolkits that educate on bystander intervention and resolving day-to-day conflicts.
- Topics include red flags in relationships and de-escalation tactics, and will be tailored to any age group (from 5-year-olds to adults).
- Toolkits are paired with community conversations led by OVP staff members in schools, churches and other community spaces.
- Although the OVP may partner with police departments, the program is not police-driven.
Flashback: The OVP was created in 2023 to collect data, educate the public and make policy recommendations.
What they're saying: "We're advising the mayor's office, oftentimes city council, when it comes to things like gun violence, group violence — which is what we call gangs now — and things like domestic violence," Shak tells Axios.
Between the lines: Although people with criminal backgrounds can be experts in gangs and communities at risk of violence, Shak says local organizations are not always able to bring them on staff because of their felony records.
- But she's proud that Columbus has allowed her to hire them as full-time staff whose services are "invaluable" to work on the ground.
- Her staff has grown from one to 21 since 2023.
The big picture: Tuesday is National Night Out, a police-organized annual event aimed at safer neighborhoods.
- Shak hopes Safer Together 614 can make an impact year-round and "continues in perpetuity."
- "We recognize that the community doesn't need another event where we show up and then there's no real follow-up," she says. "This is very intentionally meant to fill a gap that our community was telling us existed and that is proven to impact prevention numbers."