Healing & Compassion Fund would help survivors, families impacted by gun violence

Survivors and families of victims of gun violence in Toledo may soon be getting support from a pilot program called the Healing & Compassion Fund.

The program is the result of a group of stakeholders — people who have been deeply impacted by gun violence — who have been meeting since August to discuss what could be done for families struggling with loss.

“Whether it’s community-based organizations or individuals who have lost their children to gun violence — we have been working together to develop a comprehensive plan to address issues in our community related to gun violence,” said Malcolm Cunningham, director of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement.

That office convenes the Community Action Table, a multidisciplinary team of stakeholders engaged in community violence intervention and prevention work in Toledo. Stakeholders include traditional public safety representatives, communities impacted by violence, survivors, community-based organizations, mental health agencies, funders, health systems, advocacy groups, policy makers, faith-based organizations, school systems, and youth.

“They’re working to ensure gun violence never happens again,” Mr. Cunningham said.

The group has been working through the process to identify issues and sources of support, Mr. Cunningham said. From there, the group has made recommendations that will go into an overall comprehensive plan.

“The working group developed three recommendations, and the one that is most critical and most relevant is the Healing & Compassion Fund,” he said.

The Rev. Meribah Mansfield, a deacon at Trinity Episcopal Church on Adams Street, a co-founder of the Multifaith Coalition to Reduce Gun Violence and a member of MONSE’s Community Action Table victims and survivors working group, made the recommendation to establish the Healing & Compassion Fund after a monthslong process of identifying problems and barriers, research, and deliberation about how to best support victims and survivors.

Throughout the process, the Rev. Mansfield said she has heard raw, emotional, all-too-real stories told by survivors who have lost loved ones to gun violence.

“I have heard them say that they don’t even remember anything that happened for at least a month after the incident. Not only were they not aware of resources available to them, they were not cognizant enough to access those resources,” the Rev. Mansfield said. “I have heard them say that they completely withdrew from society and didn’t leave their house for years after the incident. I have heard horrifying accounts of having to clean up the blood of their loved ones by themselves after an incident. They need our support.”

The Healing & Compassion Fund aims to reduce gaps in resources for those who have been impacted by gun violence, Mr. Cunningham said.

The Community Action Table Victim and Survivor Services working group identified several challenges faced by those impacted by gun violence, including access to basic needs, respite, relocation, home modifications, repairs after violent incidents, and burial costs.

The Healing & Compassion Fund will supplement existing resources while helping to mitigate barriers. Among current barriers: Fewer than 40 percent of Ohio Crime Victim Compensation claims were awarded in 2023; the number of victims impacted by gun violence outstrips the resources available; victims’ compensation is typically reimbursement-based; and application processes are difficult to navigate.

“The resources are not always there for people in order to address those issues in a very timely fashion,” Mr. Cunningham said.

For example, the Victims of Crime Act, passed by Congress in 1984 to help victims navigate tangible costs of surviving a crime, has its shortcomings, he said.

“Many stipulations within VOCA are created by the federal government. There have been some attempts to reform VOCA in order to ensure the gaps that have been identified are addressed. But how do we fill the gaps right now?” Mr. Cunningham said.

“That is really a critical source of support. And it is not happening at a pace that works fast enough for communities,” he said. Four out of 10 people last year were actually awarded monies through VOCA, he added.

Between January, 2023, and March of this year, there were more than 450 people directly impacted by gun violence. Many did not qualify for assistance from VOCA, he said.

“With the Healing & Compassion Fund, we’ll be able to support those individuals,” he said.

Miara Carpenter, chairman of the Victims and Resources Committee, part of the survivors working group, agrees. She said it was difficult for her to relocate after her 21-year-old brother, Issac, was killed two years ago.

“I was trying to find a way to get out of my apartment. VOCA has victim resources, but it’s a very select few who can access it. There’s miles of red tape. So I had to come up with funds of my own. The Healing & Compassion Fund will help families who want to relocate or need money for such things as funeral costs,” Ms. Carpenter said.

Her mother, Aviance Hill, chairman of Sisters for Unity, an association of mothers whose children were killed by gun violence, said the fund will be important to families in need because they have few resources.

“We’re finding that survivors and victims don’t even have help if an event happens at their home and a window or door is blown out,” said Ms. Hill, whose group is part of the victim and survivor services with the mayor’s office. “We have to get either a contractor or go in and do it ourselves. No one can go on with that healing and grief journey if they’re staring at a space in their carpet or floor. It’s hard.”

If the program is passed by city council, the initial seed funding would come from Mr. Cunningham’s department.

“I was able to set aside $35,000 to start the Healing & Compassion Fund, with an additional 4 percent [$1,400] from the United Way of Greater Toledo, which will be the fiscal agent that will administer the funds. United Way will ensure the resources are being dispersed appropriately,” he said.

The funds will also be included in United Way’s 211 database so they can be directly accessed by people in the community.

United Way 211 is a free and anonymous information and referral service available 24/7 to anyone in Lucas, Ottawa, or Wood counties with a health or human service need. It connects callers to community resources from a large database of national, state, and local resources.

Josh Davies, commissioner of the school-based Save our Community, an intervention program to reduce gun violence, said one of the benefits of including the fund in 211 will be the ability of those who reach out to also be connected with additional resources.

“A lot of times, families are dealing with multiple, acute stressors when they are reaching out for these funds,” Mr. Davies said. “There’s often an accompanying sense of loss, processing grief — a whole range of issues that come along with experiencing gun violence. Being able to provide some financial support through this fund and make sure people are getting connected to additional support they may need to provide wraparound services that they require is something I’m really excited to see.”

“Despite a 30 percent reduction in gun violence in Toledo last year, there is still an overwhelming need to support survivors and families impacted by gun violence,” Mr. Cunningham said.

“We know we’re working and moving in the right direction, but, regardless, the need is so great, that we have to make sure we’re supporting those who are still being impacted,” he said.

City council’s Housing and Community Development Committee will review the proposal this month before it goes before city council for approval.