Partnership for a Safer Cleveland

🧡 Summer is here, and with it comes an important opportunity to invest in prevention.

Recent conversations across Cuyahoga County have focused on practical ways to reduce violence, including:

🔒 Promoting safe firearm storage and gun locks
💼 Connecting youth to summer jobs
🏀 Expanding positive activities and recreation opportunities
🤝 Strengthening community-based violence prevention efforts
❤️ Providing training and support that helps save lives

There is no single solution to violence. Creating safer communities takes all of us working together to provide opportunities, support, and hope.

What programs or resources have made a positive difference in your neighborhood?

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📝KNOW YOUR RIGHTS. KNOW YOUR OPTIONS ⚖

Legal challenges can impact every aspect of a person's life, from housing and employment to family stability and financial security.

The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland is offering FREE legal advice clinics this June for anyone seeking guidance on civil legal matters.

🔹 June 16
📍 Cleveland Public Library Main Branch

🔹 June 23
📍 MetroHealth Opportunity Center at Via Sana

🕓 Check-in and intake begin at 4:00 p.m.

Volunteer attorneys and Legal Aid staff will be available to answer questions and connect residents with helpful information and resources.

No appointments.
No reservations.
First-come, first-served.

Access to legal information helps strengthen families, improve stability, and support safer, healthier communities for everyone.

Please share with friends, family members, neighbors, and anyone who may benefit.

🧡 Remembering Tamir Rice Through Action

More than a decade after the tragic death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice, Cuyahoga County leaders are proposing the Tamir Rice Act, legislation that would prohibit the sale and display of gun-shaped novelty lighters that can easily be mistaken for real fi****ms. Supporters say the measure is intended to reduce confusion, prevent avoidable tragedies, and improve community safety.

While legislation alone cannot solve violence or heal past wounds, it can prompt important conversations about prevention, public awareness, and the responsibility we all share in creating safer communities for young people.

At the Partnership for a Safer Cleveland, we believe community safety requires a comprehensive approach that includes prevention, education, engagement, and collaboration. Every effort that helps reduce risk and protect our youth deserves thoughtful consideration.

As we continue through Gun Violence Awareness Month🧡, please let us remember that safer communities are built when residents, families, organizations, educators, healthcare providers, and public officials work together toward common goals.

Tamir Rice was killed holding a pellet gun. Now a Cuyahoga County councilman wants to ban lighters shaped like one This Cuyahoga County Councilman is proposing a ban on gun-shaped lighters to prevent dangerous confusion and protect children. He's named it the Tamir Rice Act.

⚖️ FREE LEGAL ADVICE FOR CLEVELAND RESIDENTS ⚖️

Sometimes the biggest barriers to safety and stability aren't criminal issues. They are housing concerns, family matters, consumer problems, employment challenges, or access to services.

That's why we're happy to share two upcoming FREE Legal Aid clinics where residents can receive guidance from attorneys and legal professionals.

🔹 Tuesday, June 16
📍 Cleveland Public Library Main Branch, Stokes Wing
525 Superior Avenue
🕓 Check-in and intake: 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

🔹 Tuesday, June 23
📍 MetroHealth Opportunity Center at Via Sana
3335 W. 25th Street
🕓 Check-in and intake: 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

🔹 Get help with:
🏠 Housing
👨‍👩‍👧 Family matters
💼 Employment issues
💳 Consumer rights
🏥 Health-related concerns
🎓 Education
💰 Financial challenges

No reservations are required. Assistance is provided on a first-come, first-served basis.

Strong communities are built when people have access to the resources and support they need.

💔 Another Difficult Reminder for Cleveland

Last weekend, multiple shootings across Cleveland left several individuals dead and others injured, prompting city leaders to speak out about the impact violence continues to have on our neighborhoods. As Councilwoman Jasmin Santana stated, "Every act of violence leaves a scar on our community."

Behind every statistic is a family grieving, a survivor healing, and a community searching for answers.

As we move into the summer months, we must remember that public safety is not the responsibility of any one person, organization, or system. It requires all of us working together: residents, community organizations, educators, healthcare providers, faith leaders, violence prevention professionals, and law enforcement.

The challenges facing Cleveland are real. Recent data shows violent crime has increased in the city during the first part of 2026, including rises in both homicides and aggravated assaults.

At the Partnership for a Safer Cleveland, we remain committed to strengthening the connections between the people, programs, and resources working every day to prevent violence, support healing, and create safer neighborhoods.

A safer Cleveland will not be built through reaction alone. It will be built through collaboration, prevention, intervention, and sustained community engagement.

‘Scar on our community’: Cleveland politicians speak out on weekend shootings Multiple people were shot in Cleveland’s Ward 14 over one weekend, leaving three dead and prompting calls for increased policing.

🚨 Did You Know? 🚨

When most people think about public safety, they think about police. 🤔

But a safer Cleveland requires so much more.

It includes violence prevention programs, mental health services, youth development organizations, victim support agencies, schools, neighborhood groups, faith communities, healthcare providers, reentry services, substance use treatment programs, and many others working together every day.

That is Cleveland's Public Safety Ecosystem.

At the Partnership for a Safer Cleveland, we're working to help residents better understand the people, organizations, and resources that make up this network and how they work together to create safer, healthier communities.

Explore our Public Safety Ecosystem page and learn how hundreds of organizations across Greater Cleveland are contributing to community safety.

🔗 https://safercleveland.org/ecosystem/

Because public safety isn't the responsibility of one organization. It's all of ours.

➡ Please help spread the word, share this post, or tag someone who needs to know

📣Big news from University Circle Police Department - Cleveland, Ohioand "sounds" like a great idea! Can't wait to "hear" more 😎

📊 Public Safety Requires Looking at the Full Picture

A recent report found that Cleveland experienced increases in several violent crime categories during the first quarter of 2026, including a rise in homicides and aggravated assaults. At the same time, robberies and reported rapes declined, reflecting some of the positive trends being seen nationally.

While any increase in violence is concerning, these numbers remind us why public safety requires ongoing collaboration, data-informed decision-making, and community engagement. Crime trends rarely move in a straight line. Progress can occur alongside new challenges, which is why sustained investment in prevention, intervention, enforcement, and community support remains essential.

At the Partnership for a Safer Cleveland, we believe the path forward is through shared responsibility, shared information, and shared action. By bringing together residents, law enforcement, service providers, researchers, policymakers, and community organizations, we can better understand emerging trends and work collectively toward safer neighborhoods for everyone.

What are your thoughts on these latest numbers?

Violent crime rates rise in Cleveland in early 2026 Violent crime rose in Cleveland in early 2026, bucking a nationwide decline that began after the pandemic-era crime spike.

🧡 ANNUAL SURVIVOR WALK 2026 🧡

Healing happens when a community walks together.

Join families, survivors, advocates, and community members for the Annual Survivor Walk on Saturday, June 13, as we honor lives, uplift hope, and promote healing during Gun Violence Awareness Month.

This year's theme is: Intentional Joy & Purposeful Healing 🧡
🔹 Saturday, June 13
🔹 10:00 AM
🔹 Walk begins at Stop & Save Mart
🔹 15637 St. Clair Avenue

Following the walk, stay for a community Block Party on Evangeline Road featuring fellowship, connection, and celebration. Together, we remember those we've lost, support those impacted by violence, and recommit ourselves to building safer communities.

Every step sends a message: You are not alone. Your story matters. Healing is possible.

💙 Who will you walk with?

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS. KNOW YOUR OPTIONS.

Legal challenges can impact every aspect of a person's life, from housing and employment to family stability and financial security.

The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland is offering FREE legal advice clinics this June for anyone seeking guidance on civil legal matters.

🔹 June 16
📍 Cleveland Public Library Main Branch

🔹 June 23
📍 MetroHealth Opportunity Center at Via Sana

🕓 Check-in and intake begin at 4:00 p.m.

Volunteer attorneys and Legal Aid staff will be available to answer questions and connect residents with helpful information and resources.

No appointments.
No reservations.
First-come, first-served.

Access to legal information helps strengthen families, improve stability, and support safer, healthier communities for everyone.

Please share with friends, family members, neighbors, and anyone who may benefit.