According to a Beacon Journal analysis of Akron police data, there were 843 gun-related crimes in the city in 2020, up from 473 in 2019. The neighborhoods hardest hit by the increases were East Akron (150), West Akron (137) and Kenmore (92).
I get the opportunity to work with some drug dealers and addicted adults in low income neighborhoods.
I once saw a man try to cut another man's leg off with a machete.
My belief is that it all stems from hopelessness. None of these people know any relatives that had one of those good jobs at Goodyear. Today there is a lot of roofing that goes on. You get paid $100 for the day and you work sun up to sun down. It's not uncommon to get stiffed on a job. Day labor is what most people hope for.
There are some manufacturing jobs. But nothing like the quality jobs we once had.
It's so easy to get discouraged. And then depressed. And then enraged.
I wrote this after reading this article:
After record year for killings, how will Akron respond to increase in violence?
Paid For By The People for Sage Lewis