Citywide Violence Reduction Summit underway in Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Hundreds of Louisville’s gun violence prevention leaders came together under one roof Tuesday.

Officials hope to come together as part of a Citywide Violence Reduction Summit to find ways to create sustainable reduction of violent crime in Louisville.

”It’s a good thing to have so many people represented in this room today,” LaVon Clack of Prominent Youth of America said.

The group provides programming for kids and is just one of the many groups represented.

The summit created by the Office for Safe and Healthy Neighborhoods brings people together with common goals: groups active in criminal justice, violence intervention, or community engagement.

It also features trauma specialists.

”Connecting everyone to individualized resources,” trauma specialist Kiara James from UofL Hospital said, “is what community is about and what Louisville is about.”

With so many parties working on the same thing, this summit aims to make sure they’re all working in conjunction with one another, though some said it’s not enough.

“We like to have meetings, and meetings about meetings,” Dr. Eddie Woods of the group No More Red Dots said, “but when it comes down to it, you make a difference by the interactions. You make a difference by intervening in situations.”

Rose Smith lost her son, Cory Crowe, to gun violence back in 2014. She was in attendance Tuesday.

Smith is now the director of the ACE Project, which offers services for the city’s youth.

”I want to do what I can do so nobody has to walk in these ugly shoes that I did,” Smith explained.

She’s hopeful the summit can make a positive change.

The summit is a two-day event that will continue on through Wednesday at the Muhammad Ali Center.

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