How a minority-owned organization in Akron hopes to inspire conflict resolution

AKRON, Ohio – Leaders of an Akron-based organization said they hope to find a solution to the rising violence and conflict they are seeing in their community through crisis intervention and de-escalation.

“If you look at the way things are, this shouldn’t be the case,” said Bertram Griggs, co-founder of the GentleWay Institute.

Even the most recent incident at Akron Firestone High School, where an Akron Police School Resource Officer (SRO) hit a high school student three times in the head after police say the teen tried to avoid the school’s metal detectors, is what Griggs and Mayor of Akron Shammas say. Malik makes a disturbing call.

‘I found the video disturbing’: Akron mayor responds to school employee hitting student in the head

RELATED: ‘I found the video disturbing’: Mayor responds to Firestone High Resource Officer punching student in the head

“I found the video disturbing. I expect many others will do the same,” Malik said on October 21.

That’s why Griggs told News 5 he’s on a mission to change Akron’s narrative through his work at the GentleWay Institute.

It’s an organization he and his childhood friend Ron Mosley say he co-founded in 2022 to rethink crisis prevention training and redesign how conflict management education is delivered.

“We want to leave a legacy and a footprint that we have done something to right some of these situations where an adult harms a young person or a young person harms an adult, or adults harm each other,” Griggs said.

So far, Griggs said their organization has worked with several cities and groups across the country, including here with Akron Public Schools, to help people interact peacefully through safety, trust, engagement and self-care .

“We talk to the people in charge, they tell us what they want, and we mix it all together and get as close to what they want as possible,” Griggs said.

After the incident at Akron Firestone High School, Griggs hopes to reconnect with the district and expand his reach with other organizations.

“It’s not darkness or anything like that, but it’s kind of cloudy, so we want to brighten that up and make it a little bit brighter than it is,” Griggs said.

If you would like to know more about their organization, CLICK HERE.