Community members discussed their plan to call for an end to gun violence in the city on Tuesday.
Ceasefire Columbus is a partnership of civic and religious leaders concerned about the violence in many Columbus neighborhoods, 10TV's Jason Frazer reported.
Community leaders said that the goal is to stop the violence before police need to get involved. Mark Johnson said that he has seen the violence on the south side with his own eyes.
"Everybody doesn't want to live negative all the time," Johnson said. "But this is just the cards we were dealt."
Bernie Price said that he has been covering south side streets for the past three years, working to diffuse potentially volatile situations.
"We're trying to teach them how to resolve their conflicts without violence," Price said.
On Tuesday, Ceasefire Columbus sponsored a forum on identity and respect for parents and students at the Family Missionary Baptist Church, located along Oakwood Avenue.
The goal was to teach community members that they can walk away from conflict without damaging their reputations, Frazer reported.
Ceasefire Columbus plans to hold more workshops to encourage non-violent means of coping with conflict.
"In paradise, there would be peace," Price said. "We know there will never be peace on earth. We just want people to learn how to resolve their conflicts without getting guns."
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