Violence Reduction in Columbus: It Takes Everyone
Gun violence in Columbus is a crisis that affects us all, whether directly or indirectly. But how can we, as a community, rally together to create meaningful change? Rev. Vince Ford brings an inspiring call to action in his article, Violence Reduction in Columbus: It Takes Everyone. Drawing from his experiences as a father, pastor, and board member of the Columbus Violence Reduction Fund (CVR), Vince invites us to rethink our approach to gun violence.
In his article, Vince weaves together personal anecdotes, community wisdom, and practical solutions. He reminds us that violence reduction is not a task for a few—it’s a mission that requires every one of us. Whether you're a parent, teacher, social worker, or simply a concerned citizen, there is a role for you in building a safer Columbus.
This week on the Blank Page podcast, I sit down with Vince for a deeper conversation. We explore the stories behind his words, the power of collaboration, and the transformative work of the CVR Fund. Together, we reflect on what it means to build bridges instead of walls, and how small acts of support can lead to life-changing outcomes.
Violence Reduction in Columbus: It Takes Everyone
By Rev. Vince Ford
When I was in elementary school, I was a huge fan of the Power Rangers. Me and my brother would run home to get there by 3:10 just in time for the first commercial. We didn’t want to miss a thing.
I remember each Power Ranger was talented in their own way, but sometimes the enemy would become too powerful for any single Ranger to defeat them. They had to realize that in order to win they would have to combine efforts, with the legendary phrase: “It’s Morphin Time”
Friends and family, it's Morphin Time. We must band together to combat the danger of gun violence, one life at a time. No matter where we find ourselves on the spectrum of impact, we all have a job to do.
Malcolm X in his speech, states,
So, where do we go from here? First, we need some friends. We need some new allies. The entire civil-rights struggle needs a new interpretation, a broader interpretation. We need to look at this civil-rights thing from another angle -- from the inside as well as from the outside
Granted this is not the 1960s, nonetheless systemic tactics to destroy the most vulnerable still exist. Instead of the civil rights struggle, let's interchange it with the “gun violence” struggle.
The entire gun-violence struggle needs new interpretation, a broader interpretation—from the inside as well as from the outside. Underline that in your mind. Understand the fact that we need everyone in an effort to rid our communities of Gun Violence.
We need the grandmother that sits on her porch, we need the congregations nestled in our neighborhoods, we need the pastors, we need the teachers, we need the social workers, we need the corporate professionals, and we need the mothers and fathers, big sisters and big brothers. Parents, we need you. We need you to share the mission of your home with the mission of the community. We need safety on the sidewalk as well as the kitchen. If we are going to combat violence, we are going to have to do it with everyone committed to this work.
There’s an old African proverb that says “in the moment of crisis, the wise build bridges and the foolish build dams.” Each person in our city has the ability and power to be a bridge builder of safety.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
The great poet, Shawn Carter also known as Jay-Z once stated “Men lie, women lie, numbers don’t.”
The numbers suggest that both the victims of gun violence and the perpetrators of gun violence look like Raynell, Vinnie and Azariah. As you ponder who those names belong to, I want to let you know that they belong to my sons, young black men growing up in Columbus. When I see a news report of a young man or young woman’s life taken at the hands of violence, I don’t just become saddened at the expense of another crime. I see my son Raynell who loves wrestling, makes beats and wants to go to college in Atlanta. When I see a young life taken it’s not just a moment of grief, it’s the 10-year-old named Vinnie who I talk football with—and for the life of me can’t understand why he would rather cheer for the Bengals than the Dallas Cowboys like his dad. When I read an article about another child struck by a stray bullet, I think about my son Azariah who loves Spider Man, and wants to be just like Miles Morales.
As Malcolm X says, we need some friends, we need some new allies. We need friends that will stand in the gap for the 144 total perpetrators of Gun Violence in our city and look them in the eye and say young brother, there’s a better way.
Of those 144, 94 look like me and my sons.
We need some friends for the 104 victims of gun violence in our city. 104 people lost to gun violence is one too many. Among the homicides in our community, the majority of them are the result of arguments and disputes. We must start young in teaching our youth safe and healthy ways to handle disagreements in effort to preserve life.
Sure, cases get solved. To be specific, our city’s current year solve rate is 77.9 percent, but death and incarceration have destroyed our families for far too long.
When I first wrote this, there were 104 homicides in Columbus—that’s one too many.
In 2023, around this time, we had 137—that’s one too many.
The year before, I saw 124 around this time of year—I said to myself that’s one too many.
The year prior as we were sheltered in place I saw 182 flashing across my screen, and that was definitely one too many!
I don’t need one too many deaths, I need one too many volunteers. I need one too many contributors, and parents and financial supporters, and peacemakers who will fight for the cause of peace and safety!
Targeted Support for Intentional Violence Reduction
I have the honor of serving on the inaugural board of directors for the Columbus Violence Reduction Fund (CVR), providing microgrants to participants of the CVR strategy. Our board, composed of several remarkable individuals including myself, is a representation of the mission in action. It’s the collaborative effort of pastors, community leaders, healthcare professionals and public health practitioners, and more importantly parents of our youth that care about the well-being of our community.
Every successful movement has a shared mission that intersects both the civic agencies and the community partners, working together, just like the work of the CVR Fund. The CVR Fund works closely with city agencies, evidence-based strategies, and community-first law enforcement. Our board works effortlessly to ensure that these young men and women who are vulnerable to violence and retaliation remain safe, alive and out of prison.
This model is working, but that’s only because this model understands layered violence is. It’s important to find a similar understanding. The act of violence is not an isolated attempt to damage the community. This is a cultural phenomenon that must be interrupted at the root. It’s not just an issue that impacts our teens, some of the most vulnerable people to violence are the victims of a perpetual cycle of no resources, limited education, and the overflow of drugs in our neighborhood. In addition to our collective commitment, financial support is essential to make this vision a reality.
Columbus Violence Reduction (CVR) focuses on those group members who are at the highest risk of committing violent crime and becoming victims themselves. CVR is dedicated to keeping our residents Safe, Alive, and Free. This includes the “big small” needs—low-cost but pressing needs such as transportation, groceries, clearing warrants, getting state ID, etc. The CVR Fund provides funding to meet many of these “big/small” needs.
Meeting these “big/small” needs is essential to violence reduction. Crimes of survival and opportunity enhance when people do not have the basic needs required for a thriving life. Many of these young men and women are more than the crime that they are involved in and exposed to. The young men and women are artists, poets, mathematicians, athletes, chefs, and engineers. What they need is a chance, and sometimes to get the chance they need some help. Sure, we can encourage people not to engage in criminal activity, but that’s a difficult ask when someone needs a light bill paid, or their child needs diapers, or their car is not running. Sometimes having enough groceries are the resource that keeps people from engaging in an act that could ruin their life.
It’s Working
For a couple of years I was the program manager for the Linden Anti-Violence Team. I remember a client who wanted to ask a facilitator a question. The young man raised his hand—his face tense, eyes tired. The facilitator looked at them and said, “If you don’t smile, you can’t ask your question”. He responded, “I have nothing to smile about.”
Truth be told, knowing all that he was facing in life, that was a proper response. He had just gotten out of prison that week prior. He was in a new city, released on terms of supervision because his dad lived there. He had spent the better part of the last four months of his prison sentence in solitary confinement.
Read that again: He spent the better part of the last four months of his prison sentence in solitary confinement. This is how trauma of incarceration spills into the street.
He came home to no job, no ID, a suspended license, and the responsibility of his children with no resources, and no help.
Once we rallied around him, I’m happy to announce that his suspended license has been renewed, he has a job in the community he lives in, he’s taking care of his son and he even wants to be a voice for the younger brothers in the community.
When we rally around the most vulnerable they become stronger for the people who relate to them most.
This is some of the most important work we can do in the work to reduce violence. As a board member of the CVR Fund, I know stories of participants that needed work done on their cars so they could continue to get to work. We’ve seen the progress of participants, even those who have graduated from school, enrolled in certification courses, and every story like this is another individual no longer resorting to violence.
Just this week, we heard a story of a young man who got a job in a factory, and the fund provided him with his mandatory steel-toed boots. The problem with steel-toed boots is they need some time to get worn in. After one day, his feet were hurting! He went to his intervention specialist, upset and complaining. They said to him, “What do you want, some insoles for those boots?” By the next day, he had cushions in his steel-toed boots and he’s had a job every day since.
Our work in the violence reduction space can no longer be exclusively reactionary. We need proactive measures that will ensure a thriving life for each and every person in every community. We need to provide a little cushion to those whose feet are tired from carrying the weight of no-better-options.
If we were all gathered together for an event, and someone needed emergency help in the middle of the auditorium, everyone in the room would do everything they could to help them survive. One person might call 911, the other might start first aid, and others will gather around to help in any way they can. “How can I help?” would be heard throughout the room. We need to look at our city like an auditorium, and there are those amongst us who are having emergencies. We need more people to gather around and ask how they can help. We need every citizen to exhaust every resource they have, to ensure our city becomes the safest city it has ever been.
Our task starts right now.