PANAMA CITY — Panama City’s largest ever partnership to stop violence in the community became official as news of the overnight shooting in the Florida State University library in Tallahassee swirled Thursday morning.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of the families,” John Holdnak, president of Gulf Coast State College, said in a press conference at the college. The shooting suspect had once attended GCSC.
Gun-related homicide has touched the city with a heavy hand this year, as 10 victims had been gunned down. In response, the community pulled together in a mass effort to address issues contributing to the uptick in violence.
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“Problems in any part of our community are problems for all of our community, and we must work together to address them,” Holdnak said. “For that reason, the LEAD Coalition was created.”
The Leadership Empowerment and Authentic Development (LEAD) Coalition was one of the grassroots organizations to form in the wake of shooting fatalities over the summer.
Everyday citizens volunteered their time to hold discussion panels, march the streets and knock on doors in affected neighborhoods to soothe rattled neighbors and brainstorm ways to stop the killing. LEAD’s stakeholders are determined to take on the objectives before them but realize it will take time to build momentum.
“The events that have unfolded during the past year is very unusual in our community,” said Bay County Sheriff Frank McKeithen.
He said that many tragedies and kids dying is not something law enforcement can fix alone with more arrests and patrolling.
The shootings had been unpredictable this year, and the community found itself unprepared for the damage on a wide spectrum.
Panama City Police Chief Scott Ervin said LEAD’s mission is to work toward ending violence through efforts in crime prevention, civic engagement, public health, education, better housing, economic development and public policy.
Ervin described how a ripple effect from shootings had caused the city’s entire ecosystem to falter and bring on the need for a holistic approach to repair many tears in the tapestry of social issues.
“There’s no template for what we’re doing, because this typically isn’t done,” he said.
As of Jan. 1, LEAD coordinator Janice Lucas will leave her job as a reading coach in the school district to step into the official role of director for LEAD under a one-year contract. Gulf Coast will be the organization’s new home.
The coalition’s annual budget of $64,000 will be funded by contributions of $25,000 from Bay District Schools, $20,000 from the Bay County Sheriff’s Department and $19,000 from the city of Panama City.
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“As we move forward with LEAD, this is just the beginning,” Lucas said. “It is not already figured out.”
Lucas highlighted her own failure to speak out during events precipitating the death of one of the victims and the fact that Panama City has many of the same systemic factors that larger, more urban cities do in creating an atmosphere for violence to breed.
“I invite all of us to go forward with the story that the LEAD Coalition is not the answer,” she said. “But it’s inviting all of us to come together to work to find answers and create solutions to close gaps in the safety net so that our children can play safely outside no matter what ZIP code or street they live on.”