City of Toledo Receives $1M Grant for Enhancing School Capacity to Address Youth Violence

The City of Toledo has received a $1,000,000 grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) through the FY24 Enhancing School Capacity to Address Youth Violence program.

This funding will enhance school safety and expand student and family support at Waite, Woodward, and Scott High Schools. The Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE) will utilize this grant to expand its efforts in addressing the root causes of violence in Toledo, fostering a safer environment for all youth.The grant will support the implementation of effective strategies to improve school climate and create safer learning environments.

Key activities include:

Community Action Table: Involving parents and students in a cross-disciplinary group to address gun violence, this initiative will create opportunities for family voices to be heard and foster leadership through the establishment of a "School Capacity" working group.

School-Community Partnerships: Enhancing relationships between school systems and community organizations to address school violence collectively.

Partner Sub-Awards: The City will sub-award project funds to two local organizations, Good Grief of Northwest Ohio and Sisters 4 Unity, both experienced in supporting families impacted by violence. They will provide ongoing evidence-based supports to students and families that have experienced violence.

Youth Mental Health First Aid Training: Offering training for Toledo Public Schools personnel to improve capacity for preventing and addressing incidents of violence and their impact on students' mental health.

Family-Oriented Case Management: The program aims to increase the number of students referred to school-based Save Our Community (SOC) and project partners for comprehensive, family-oriented case management.

This funding directly supports recommendations outlined in the Peace in Motion comprehensive plan, including community and system-level coordinated responses, enhancing youth peer support, further integrating services for youth impacted by violence, and developing a sustainability plan for the Save Our Community program post-ARPA funding.

"With this funding, we will make a meaningful impact on the safety and success of our students," Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said. "We are committed to working with our community partners to create a safer environment for our youth. As always, we are grateful to Senator Sherrod Brown and Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur for making funding like this available to cities like Toledo."

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