CLEVELAND — At the end of May, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb outlined a crime reduction plan ahead of the summer months. However, the city has seen rashes of violent crime—from shootings to carjackings, robberies and homicides. Summer crime has already been on the rise.
Part of Bibb’s plan includes targeting symptoms of violent crime, starting with the youth.
"When I was growing up in the Southeast Side, I was busy from sunup to sundown and that allowed me to stay out of trouble. And so any chance I can get as mayor to talk about the importance of our young people being active this summer, I'm going to be talking about it and I want to show up to hang out with the children all across the city throughout the summer as well," Bibb said on Saturday at a local youth football camp.
Cleveland's mayor got to see some of the goals of the summer crime reduction plan in action during the Varsity House Local Legends youth football camp.
The Varsity House Local Legends Camp, hosted by Cleveland native and former Notre Dame cornerback Shaun Crawford featured guest speakers, including Bibb and Browns legend Bernie Kosar. A skills portion of the camp was led by instructors, including Browns kicker Cade York, running back Demetric Felton and offensive tackle Tyrone Wheatley Jr.
During the event, Bibb spoke to the local youth, reminding them of the importance of focusing on school, remaining active during summer months in healthy and positive activities and taking pride in the community they live in.
"We have to have pride in our community because our city and our country won't get better unless we take pride in where we live," Bibb told the children at the football camp.
Felton, who was recently a victim of crime in Cleveland after his car was stolen—just hours before teammate Greg Newsome II was carjacked at gunpoint—spoke about the importance of being involved in the youth camp and giving local kids a summer outlet.
"I think it's super important to have these things. Go back to when I was a kid, being in sports was a way for me to be busy and if these kids aren’t busy and they don’t have things to do, they can start doing the wrong things and get into trouble, so I think this is really good for the community," Felton said.
The Varsity House Local Legends camp is an event Bibb believes directly aligns with the city's vision for youth this summer.
"It goes to our vision at city hall about making sure that our young people have productive things to do throughout the entire summer. And sports has the ability to empower children," Bibb said.
Saturday's football camp is just one example of some of the work planned to occupy youth in Cleveland with positive activities—and tackling the crime issue facing Cleveland is something the mayor is still on a mission to address.
"We're going to continue to be aggressive with law enforcement to get more guns off the street, to cut down on gang and drug activity. And as mayor, I'm not going to stop fighting as hard as I could by to make sure to keep our city safe," Bibb said.
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