Anti-violence meeting at church is SRO

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - A standing-room-only crowd attended a meeting at a Grand Rapids church to give ideas on how to stop recent gun violence in the community.

Since Dec. 14, 2012, there have been nine homicides in Grand Rapids, five of them still unsolved.

Pastors told 24 Hour News 8 they estimate 900 to 1,000 people were at Messiah Missionary Baptist Church Friday morning. Pastors, educators and others with the "Stop It!" effort heard suggestions from residents.

It was the first of hoped several other meetings within the next few months to "encourage collaboration, spur dialogue, and facilitate change" to decrease violence, according to a news release from the organization.

Attendees told 24 Hour News 8 they're tired of the gun violence and ready to make something happen.

"I came away with that the community is very willing and ready to do something, to make some kind of a change. This is crazy," Joyce Harris said. "We have got to do something."

Lawrence Turley added, "I thought it was very powerful for a lot of the older community come out.  One disappointing part of it was there weren't too many youth here in the meeting and the meeting was about the youth."

But young people, and everybody else will have a chance to speak up at a series of other community meetings in the next month.

The plan is put together by this loosely organized group of pastors, educators, police and youth workers. Their idea is to hold community meetings about different pieces of the violence puzzle and within 60 days come back with some solid ideas. They're also developing a website and Facebook page.

The pastors said they know there have been spikes of gun violence in the past that brought attempted solutions that did no good. But this is different, they say.

"We feel that this time we have an opportunity to glean from successful models that have occurred throughout the country that have provided results in which you had a community that experienced lower volumes of community violence," Joe Jones said.

The upcoming "Stop It!" meetings

January 23, 6:30 p.m.  For Young people and youth workers.  Life Quest, 1050 Fisk SE

February 5, 5:30 p.m.  Community meets with police.  "Coffee with Captain Payne"  636 Bates SE

February 7, 5:30 p.m  Community Forum. Gerald R Ford Middle School. 815 Madison SE

February 21, 5:30 p.m.  Clergy.  618 Jefferson SE

February 25-28, Several evening meetings regarding systems, mental health.  Urban League 745 Eastern SE