Student leaders meet with sheriff to help curb youth violence

CLEVELAND - Saint Ignatius senior Kevin Smith knew that he had to do something when he first heard of the violent assault on fellow teen Justin Winemiller last summer.

Smith helped co-found the group "Stand Against Violence." The purpose of the group is to help curb the youth-on-youth violence that is a growing problem in our area and statewide.

Now, Smith and other members of Stand Against Violence from St. Joseph Academy and Cleveland School of the Arts met with Cuyahoga County Sheriff Bob Reid to enlist the sheriff's office to help get the word out about next month's Youth Violence Summit, hosted by Saint Ignatius.

Being a county-wide agency, the sheriff's office is in a unique position to spread the word among City of Cleveland and suburban police agencies and school districts. The hope is to bring in as many students and adults as possible to the summit to put an end to youth violence.

If you are interested in signing the group's non-violence pledge or to get more information on the Youth Violence Summit, you can check out the group's Web site: www.standagainstviolence.org .