Residents Take Over City Block To Stop Violence

"Times, they are changing," said Reverend Jerome McCorry as he watched dozens of Dayton residents celebrate a future with less violence Saturday afternoon.

The block party was organized by members of the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, Dayton Police Department, The Adam Project, and many other street advocates to promote change in the community.

"We want grandma to be able to sit on the front porch again, we want to be able to have neighborhoods where our children can walk to the store without fear of being offered some of everything along the way, and the only way to do that is to be out here," said McCorry, President of The Adam Project, a faith-based organization offering men help to avoid a life of crime.

Officials said the block party was a "party with a purpose," because the point was for law enforcement to mingle with residents and learn their concerns about the neighborhood.

"Citizens have been telling me they have a lot of drug trafficking here and a lot of prostitution," said Sheriff Phil Plummer. "Some of the residents walk to the bus stop and they get harassed by the drug dealers."

Many of the residents who attended the event had already been directly affected by crime.

"I was a pizza delivery driver in 2006 and someone robbed me," said one woman. "I lived through it and I'm thankful for that."

Another man, Craig Dearing is still mourning the death of his best friend Wallace Hailey, who was murdered in June.

"Taking someone's life, taking somebody's father, somebody's brother, taking somebody's husband - we've got to stop this in the community," Dearing said.

Saturday's 'Stop the Violence' block party was the third of its kind in Montgomery County this year.

Those involved said the next step is to schedule a town hall meeting in the neighborhood to discuss community issues more in depth and talk about ways to solve them.