CINCINNATI — Cincinnati leaders are trying to find a way to put a permanent memorial in place to honor the lives taken away by gun violence.
The Public Safety and Governance Committee filed a report from City Manager Sheryl Long that included a feasibility study to make this project a reality.
The report outlines community engagement, funding, site identification and education opportunities. It also notes that the project's budget could range anywhere from $800,000 to $3 million, but no official budget has been created yet.
The project began in April 2024, when council member Meeka Owens filed a motion to investigate the possibility of a permanent memorial for gun violence victims in Cincinnati.
WCPO 9 News sat down with Owens to hear her vision as the project began to take shape.
"We are recognizing that we have to look at this differently, we are recognizing that it leaves an impact on communities, which ultimately impacts us as a city," Owens said.
She told WCPO community engagement is one of the most important aspects of planning this project. The city manager's report included a list of advocacy groups with which the city frequently collaborates on this topic and which could be involved in the future.
"If we're going to be a city that's responsive to the needs of our residents, that means we have to create spaces of healing," said Owens.
Learn more about the city's plans here:
WCPO sat down with two of the community partners listed by the city, including the Parents of Murdered Children (POMC), located in Cincinnati.
The organization has more than 40 national branches but was started by a local family after losing their daughter in the late 1970s.
"There's just too much violence in our city of Cincinnati, too much violence all over the United States," said POMC Executive Director Beverly Warnock.
We asked Warnock what her hopes are if and when this permanent memorial is unveiled.
"(These families) need something to memorialize their loved one. We have a national day of murder victims on Sept. 25. ... I would think that that might be a good time, you know, of course not this year, but whenever they do it to tie that in," said Warnock.
One of the families that POMC has connected with is the mother of Cassandra Betts, who was stabbed and shot to death in December 2000 with her 7-year-old daughter in the back seat.
Betts' mother, Barbara Hill-Irving, told us she hopes that this memorial can bring other families together.
“Hopefully, I think it will get more acknowledgment for people to see the number of people, you and old, whose life was taken due to gun violence," said Hill-Irving.
WCPO also sat down with the founder and CEO of UCanSpeakForMe, Hope Dudley, and she hopes that the city will create a peaceful place for families to mourn, heal, and learn.
“Even if it's a name, touching the name, or if it’s a photo, taking a picture of the photo, so I think it would bring great awareness to our community," said Dudley.
Council member Owens told WCPO that the community's input and involvement is one of the most vital parts of this project.
