Think tank formed to address community violence, mental health issues in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - Solutions won't come overnight, but members of a Cedar Rapids think tank who convened to address issues of violence and mental health in the community say they are committed to finding answers to those problems.

On Wednesday afternoon, local law enforcement, education, social service and health leaders spoke to a small crowd of community leaders and citizens at the Cedar Rapids Police Station about the goals for the as yet-unnamed think tank.

'We're going to make an effort in this community to address very significant, huge issues,” said Jay Johnson, a Cedar Rapids-based independent business consultant who spearheaded the creation of the organization.

Johnson said he has been trying to come up with solutions to community violence for 24 years - since the Gang Lu shooting on the University of Iowa campus that took five lives.

Johnson said his efforts to address community violence took a turn when he saw a headline about a think tank in a newspaper last month. That led him to contact Cedar Rapids Police Chief Wayne Jerman to discuss forming such an organization in Cedar Rapids.

Jerman said he was immediately on board with the idea of tackling issues from more than just a law enforcement approach.

'It's a societal issue,” Jerman said to the group. 'There's not one single issue that has brought us to where we are today.”

Jerman and Johnson then began contacting leaders in the community who would be a part of the think tank. Those efforts were accelerated last week in the wake of two homicides and other acts of violence.

'After that tragedy occurred, we gained a tremendous amount of speed,” Jerman said, referring to the Sept. 6 death of 15-year-old Aaron K. Richardson and the shooting death of an as-yet unidentified 32-year-old man.

The think tank will include representation from various organizations within the city, including law enforcement agencies, health care officials, the faith community, education leaders and social service organizations.

'The issues that the community faces regarding mental health and violence are not things that can be handled individually,” Johnson said.

No specific measures were proposed during Wednesday's news conference, and Johnson said it will take time before those emerge. He urged community members to submit their ideas - the group eventually will have a Facebook page.

'I'm not so focused on quarterly updates,” he said. 'I'm not so focused on regular dialogue as much as I am trying to get the broad nature of the effort here to come up with long-standing, doable solutions. As we find them, we'll communicate that to the community.”

Four Oaks CEO Anne Gruenewald, a think tank member, praised the concept and noted it has worked in the past in the aftermath of the devastating Floods of 2008.

'Cedar Rapids is a large community, but in many ways we're small,” she said to the group. 'We come together and we problem solve. We're resilient.”

Former University of Iowa basketball player Kenyon Murray, who works with the LBA Foundation in reaching out to Cedar Rapids youth through basketball and was familiar with both Richardson and Humble, said he hopes the think tank relies on smaller, street-level organizations such as the LBA Foundation to reach children and their families. He called on the think tank to use those organizations as 'foot soldiers” in their efforts.

'We have to stop talking and start doing,” he said.