Anti-violence summit seeks to save Columbus' youth

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – A group of community leaders is working to combat youth violence in Columbus by using the power of choice.

The initiative is a grassroots effort run by faith leaders and community members to show young people the impact of gun violence on a community.

“What we are about to do is the impossible,” said Mark Hampton, pastor at the Fresh Start Worship Center. “It’s absolutely impossible, but we are going to do it anyway.”

The initiative is called the Vergewe Summit, named for the African word for forgiveness. Hampton said the goal of the summit is to not only drive the murder rate down in Columbus but to set the youth’s minds on the right track.

Hampton said the city needs to stop viewing the youth as the problem, but rather as the biggest opportunity for change. He said he wanted to do the summit because he is tired of seeing the pain in a mother’s eyes and doing funerals for a young person lost too soon.

The summit, set for April, will feature what Hampton calls “impact speakers,” including Columbus police leadership, funeral directors, and more. Their job will be to show the youths the true impact gun violence has on them and the people around them.

Hampton said the summit will all lead to one thing, and that’s a choice.

He says people have asked to join sports leagues and go to job fairs, but there is one question he believes these kids need to answer.

“So I believe that if we get 500 to 1,000 Black males in one room and we get them to make a decision to live, even if it is only 300 of them that make that decision, we will have driven the murder rate down in Columbus,” Hampton said. “That’s the point.”

Hampton said that following the summit, there will be a six-to-10-week intensive for those involved to teach them communication skills and emotional intelligence.

The Vergewe Summit website is set to launch Sunday and they are actively recruiting youth to join them.