Larry Olek knew he had to do something about the violence in Johnstown after he met the mother of a 13-year-old boy who was shot and killed in December.
“She was crying, but there were no tears. She was all dried out. She looked at me and said, ‘Why? Why did they kill my baby?’ said Olek. “I hugged her, I looked at her and I said, ‘I don’t know, but I will do everything that I can to help you.'”
Olek and other volunteers with Hope 4 Johnstown, a new grassroots group that formed to address gun violence in the city, are trying to raise money to bring an anti-violence program called Cure Violence to Johnstown.
The evidence-based health model reduces violence by treating it like a disease: stopping the spread, treating anyone who’s at risk of committing violent acts and preventing violence in the first place by changing community norms.
“We’ve got to break this pseudo-norm thinking that’s it’s normal to solve conflicts by working it out at the end of a gun,” said Alan Cashaw, a co-chair of Hope 4 Johnstown.
The model has reduced shootings and killings up to 70 percent in parts of Chicago, New York and Baltimore.
Olek and Hope 4 Johnstown volunteers are reaching out to alumni of local schools, businesses and charitable organizations like the Rotary Club for donations.
“We need to take ownership of the problem because it affects quality of life. It affects economic development. It affects business in the community,” Olek said.
They’ve raised more than $1,000, but need about $10,000 for the initial Cure Violence assessment.
“If we have no money, we have no mission,” said Olek.
You can learn more or get involved with Hope 4 Johnstown by visiting their Facebook page.
You can donate money to Hope 4 Johnstown through the Community Foundation for the Alleghenies:
116 Market Street, Suite 4
Johnstown, PA 15901
info@cfalleghenies.org
Olek also started a GoFundMe to raise money for the Cure Violence assessment.
