by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
One of the basic principles of “The Jacksonville Journey: Take a Step” is to unite the various entities with stakes in fighting violence and drug-related crime to create a cohesive force that would be more powerful than the sum of its parts. One of those entities is the faith-based community from the pulpit to the pews.
When Rev. Eugene Rivers was in Jacksonville last week, he explained the concepts behind his “10 Point Coalition” to unite churches and their leaders to address violent crime and drug abuse in their neighborhoods.
The presentation was more a sermon than a seminar and was delivered to more than 150 church and community leaders and law enforcement officials. By the time Rivers was finished, the “congregation” that had gathered was fired up and on board with the message.
One thing about a sermon is it has a shelf life. Pastors are always faced with the fact that its effects will wane.
Mayor John Peyton wanted to make sure Rivers’ message would endure, so before the attendees left the meeting at the Main Library, he announced the creation of the “Jacksonville Faith-based Violence Reduction Coalition.” He also charged Bishop Vaughn McLaughlin of the Potter’s House Christian Fellowship with leading the effort.
“We have got to reduce the things that create crime,” McLaughlin said. “I’m not going toe-to-toe with the drug czars, but we know faith changes hearts and minds, and we believe we can reach the young people.”
He is the founder of Potter’s House, the non-denominational force behind the conversion of the long-vacant Normandy Mall on the Westside into Kingdom Plaza, a retail center that the church owns and operates.
McLaughlin was working on the plan before Rivers was on his way to the airport to return to Boston and has already hosted a meeting with 400 members of his church who will form the core group of the effort.
“We’re going to implement the 10 Points here first, then use that as a model,” said McLaughlin. “We’ll have rallies and prayer walks. We’re going to let our presence be known in the neighborhoods. People want to see something. Everybody’s been talking, but not doing anything.”
He added the implementation won’t be limited to churches in the target neighborhoods.
“We want to connect all the churches in Jacksonville, so the suburban churches are part of the plan and will be brought to the table,” He said. “They can support this effort prayerfully as well as fiscally. Crime affects all of us. Everyone can play their part and together we can help solve these problems.”
As the new coalition grows, McLaughlin said Potter’s House will be used as a clearinghouse for information and resources. As soon as the church leaders and their congregations are organized, the next step will be to involve Jacksonville’s social service providers.
Knowing the power of the faith-based community as well as he does, McLaughlin said his faith in the ultimate success of the campaign to control violence is strong.
“Church is the only place where you will see as many as four generations of the same family doing the same thing at the same time,” he said.
Another issue that has been raised is the correlation between sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and crime in a geographical area. At least one public health official believes the faith-based community can make a positive contribution on that front as well.
Aaron Hilliard, director of disease control and environmental health for the Duval County Health Department, said Jacksonville’s STD map almost perfectly matches the city’s violent crime map.
“We see a higher incidence of STDs in the same neighborhoods that are impacted by violent crime and drug crime,” said Hilliard. “We believe health care and disease control can play a critical role in reducing crime, but the first step is to admit and accept there is a problem.”
Hilliard also said the city is facing an STD epidemic.
“Jacksonville is number one in the state in total cases of gonorrhea, primarily in the 15 to 24 years-of-age group. We are also No. 2 in the state in cases of chlamydia in the same age group,” he said, then cited some disturbing statistics:
In Duval County, there are 1,200 cases of gonorrhea per 100,000 females ages 15-19. The state average is 630. There are 4,067 cases of chlamydia per 100,000 females in that age group. The state average is 2,313.
“There is a a significant effort to reduce those numbers but it’s getting worse every year,” added Hilliard. “We need to establish a linkage between outreach and treatment. We think we can reduce the incidence of STDs with the help of the faith-based community.”