Latest news with #JeffreyMimsJr.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mims praises collaborative efforts to put on NATO event
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — As world leaders descend upon downtown, the mayor of Dayton is praising the preparations that are now helping keep everyone safe downtown. The NATO Spring Assembly is in full swing on Friday, and 2 NEWS sat down with Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr. to see how he's feeling about this historic event. NATO Village: What does it look like inside the security zone? There's a lot of work that has gone into planning to host this NATO Parliamentary Assembly, which is the first in the U.S. in 20 years. For just a week-long event, months of preparation went into planning security, schedules and more. Mayor Mims says the event is off to a great start, particularly when it comes to safety, and he expects that to continue. There were no incidents on day one, and that's not by accident. Teams of law enforcement worked for months to come up with a plan to secure the inside of the NATO Village and surrounding areas. What is the NATO Village? The city of Dayton collaborated with several local, state and federal officials to pull this whole event off. 'Dayton has looked at what's happening across the state, across the nation in terms of the issues involving safety and how you keep people safe,' said Mims. 'There's a blueprint, if you will, in terms of how they do what they do, in terms of addressing the needs of each other and being supportive.' Mayor Mims says he's happy with what he's seeing so far, and thanks the multitude of partners who are working to keep everyone safe. 'No matter what department you in on the matter, what part of the state that you in, we all sort of come together,' said Mims. There were initially concerns about safety due to potential protests, but Mims says he wants protesters to have a space to feel like they have a voice. The city worked to make sure there is a designated area of protesters. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Dayton violence interruption plan eyes hotspots: Miami Chapel, North Riverdale
May 7—After analyzing police data about aggravated assaults and homicides, Cure Violence Global has recommended that the city focus its proposed violence interruption program on a couple of violent crime hotspots in west and northwest Dayton. Cure Violence Global recently completed an assessment that says Dayton is good fit for its violence prevention and reduction model that treats violence like a contagious disease. The organization identified potential target areas of North Riverdale in north Dayton and Miami Chapel in west Dayton. A Dayton Police Department analysis of firearm-related homicides and felonious assaults from 1999 to 2024 found that violence has been concentrated in areas including the DeSoto Bass Courts in Miami Chapel and the North Main Street corridor, by the Santa Clara and North Riverdale neighborhoods. Studies indicate that Cure Violence Global programs in other U.S. cities have led to large reductions in violence, shootings and killings, said Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr., who believes Dayton's new program will launch in mid- to late summer. "It's a problem we want to prevent," he said. "I don't want to lose one more life." Cure Violence Global is a Chicago-based organization that helps communities create violence prevention and reduction programs that take a public health approach to combating bloodshed. The group worked closely with the city to complete a "readiness assessment" to determine if its model could work in the Gem City. CVG says Dayton has the capacity and the "political will" to launch a successful program. CVG recommends that Public Health — Dayton & Montgomery County should be the oversight agency for the program, and the group said it can and will help find a community-based organization to implement the model. Jennifer Wentzel, health commissioner with Public Health — Dayton & Montgomery County, said the agency "has been asked to play a role in addressing violence as a public health issue, and we are working to determine the most effective way for Public Health to support a meaningful, evidence-based and community-centered solution." CVG's readiness assessment says Miami Chapel and North Riverdale are potential target areas. Miami Chapel starts at U.S. 35 near James H. McGee Blvd. and runs south past Germantown Pike and DeSoto Bass, to Louise Troy Elementary and the Humane Society. North Riverdale is a long neighborhood of homes between Main Street and Riverside Drive, running north from Ridge Avenue just past Siebenthaler. A Dayton Daily News investigation earlier this year found that North Riverdale and Residence Park (in west Dayton) had the most incidents of violent gun crime in the city last year, and Miami Chapel had more gun violence than most city neighborhoods. Maps created by the Dayton Police Department of firearm-related homicides and felonious assaults in the last five and the last 26 years suggest that hotspots included parts of Miami Chapel, the Summit Square apartment complex and sections of the North Main Street corridor, close to and around North Riverdale. The readiness assessment says that information provided by the Dayton Police Department suggests that the nature of violent incidents in the city is consistent with other places where the CVG model has been implemented. "Shootings and homicides take place in mostly public spaces in the community between individuals and groups who are in conflict for various reasons ranging from the sale of substances to interpersonal conflicts (often fueled by social media) to other 'on the spot' transactional disputes," the report states. CVG recommends that Dayton's program employ 7-10 team members for every target area, which includes violence interrupters, outreach workers and supervisors and program managers. The assessment says a program in a target area could cost about $565,000 annually. CVG's model calls for hiring and training violence interrupters who try to prevent violence by identifying and mediating conflicts in the community before they can escalate. These "credible messengers" will try to link vulnerable community members who are at a high risk of being involved in violence with services like housing, food, employment and educational assistance and job skills training. CVG says its model helped reduce killings by 75% in Charlotte; 43% in St. Louis; 32% in Baltimore; and 18% in Milwaukee. The organization says violence interruption programs in New York, Philadelphia and New Orleans resulted in sizable declines in shootings. Mayor Mims said Dayton overall is a safe place, and the Gem City is safer than some other U.S. urban areas. But he said there is still too much violence in the community, and this program hopefully will help change that. "It makes all the sense in the world for us to do this," he said. "Getting this right means so, so much to every citizen, born and unborn, and every citizen who passes through Dayton, plus those who live here." Mims said more community members, and young people especially, need to be taught conflict resolution skills. Mims also said the violence interruption program is one part of his peace campaign, and the other components will focus on youth development and community engagement.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Your voice matters;' Mayor invites community to attend meeting to curb violence
A community meeting will happen today to discuss how to cut down on violence in Dayton. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] We are previewing the meeting as people are trying to tackle the city's violence problem this morning on News Center 7 Daybreak from 4:25 a.m. to 7 a.m. TRENDING STORIES: Woman, minor shot at point-blank range near Springfield store, restaurant Firefighters work to extinguish house fire in Montgomery County Local sushi restaurant closes location after 10 years As previously reported by News Center 7, Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr. has been working on a violence interruption program since the outbreaks of violence last summer. He asked people on social media to attend the meeting. 'Join us for an important conversation on making our communities safer,' he said in a Facebook post. 'Your voice matters as we work together to create lasting solutions. Let's build a safer Dayton—together!' The meeting is scheduled to start at 5:30 p.m. at the Northwest Rec. Center. It is at the 1600 block of Princeton Drive in Dayton. We will update this story. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter]
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dayton State of the City address highlights protecting youth, job growth
DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) — Dayton city leaders are looking ahead to 2025, addressing residents during their annual State of the City address. During the address, leaders looked back on issues the city faced over the last year, before covering the plan to start fixing those issues and what lays ahead. Creating a safer community was the cornerstone as Dayton Mayor Jeffrey Mims Jr. spoke to residents on Wednesday night. Mayor Mims highlighted plans for economic development but focused on a new peace initiative to combat gun violence in the city — something that he says deserves undivided attention. Community activists inspiring youth with Dayton's history: 'the City of Peace' The main way Mims is looking to enact change is through a new peace campaign that launched at the end of January. It aims to protect young people in the city from gun violence and bolster Dayton's residents economically. 'I want to create a type of space in Dayton as if every person and child and every citizen were my own relative or my own child,' said Mims. The city of Dayton saw a massive increase in youth gun violence in 2024, with over two dozen young people being killed over the course of the year. City leaders say that policies directly addressing the violence are key, but that supporting residents and the city's economic growth is the best long-term solution. One way is through raising the median income. 'We've been able to raise our median income by at least $11,000 in the last ten years,' said Mims. 'I want that to continue. I want to continue at a faster pace.' Other initiatives are in place to make the city attractive for investors and create job growth. Projects like On Main and incoming companies like the Sierra Nevada Corporation and Joby Aviation will bring hundreds of millions of dollars and hundreds of jobs to the Gem City — something Commissioner Chris Shaw is working specifically toward. 'We're excited about the opportunity for other high tech manufacturing companies willing to come to our area, staying in our area and building,' said Dayton City Commissioner Christopher Shaw. 'Those are ongoing, they never stop.' Dayton is cleaning up downtown ahead of NATO assembly in May 2 NEWS spoke to residents who were in attendance Wednesday night, saying while these projects are ambitious, Dayton should not lose sight on the people who need help the most. 'How exactly are we going to save our neighborhoods?' asked one resident, who goes by Mama. 'Everything sounds good, but we have to have specifics. What specific steps are we going to take?' Mayor Mims says the city plans on staying aggressive on policies combatting gun violence and protecting the city's youth. The full rundown of plans highlighted during the address can be found on Dayton's website. Dayton's next city commission meeting will be Wednesday, Feb. 19. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
