CINCINNATI — At WCPO 9 we are searching for solutions to youth violence in Cincinnati. So is the owner of a local child care center in Price Hill, looking to turn "little dreamers into future leaders."
Owner Antaun Hill is focusing on kids because before they are teenagers, they are children.
Hill has a heart for kids. He has six of his own and two grandchildren. Step inside "Little Dreamers Child Care" and you'll meet the rest, about 65 on any given day - Babies, toddlers and preschoolers about to start kindergarten.
"The name of the day care, should have been 'Daddy's Day Care' because it's three men who own it but 'Little Dreamers Daycare,' like everything, starts with a dream," said co-owner Hill.
Many years ago, Hill's dream was to raise his children in a safe neighborhood.
"I grew up in College Hill, Ohio, so crime always scared me. My biggest fear was losing a child to murder. That was my biggest fear," he said, "So how do you solve that? Well, you move to the suburbs."
Hill moved his family, including his identical twin boys, Antaun Jr. and Dashon, away from the city.
"Fairfield Township to be exact, you know, on the golf course, thinking, 'okay, they're protected.' And for the most part, they were," he said.
We first met Hill at a downtown community conversation, where Hill insisted curbing youth violence starts long before kids enter grade school because he knows — more than anyone — how violence can touch a family no matter where they are.
"The city's problem was not my problem, you know. If I go out here and I protect my children, they're okay," he explained. "Well, June 10, 2020 [arrived] and I realized that you can be taken away anywhere."
On that day, his 18-year-old son, Antaun Jr. left home and never came back. He had just graduated from Fairfield High School when he was shot and killed.
"My son was in the car with seven guys. Six guys made it back to the car. And they went back and my son was taking his last breath," Hill said.
It's a pain he says no parent can imagine.
"I always say you really can, but you don't want to," Hill said.
Now, four years later, Hill is back in the city running "Little Dreamers" and advocating for change.
"Stop easy access to guns. I'm 47 years old and I still don't know where to get a gun. With some of the kids that I talk to, if I needed [a gun], they would direct me [to one]. That's bad," he said. "Kids, these children, they're exposed to so much. Social media teaches them everything. They're influenced by a lot of things, so you have to nurture that. You have to nurture that because when you get a bunch of information at one time, you can't handle it."
He says it's up to the adults and the change-makers to step in early and offer support and love right from the start.
"That's how we start. We start here, we go out there. We show our kids. Because at this point, these are everybody's kids."
