Social Work Professor’s Podcast Explores Effects of Youth Violence

Social Work Professor's Podcast Explores Effects of Youth Violence

"No More Silence," a locally produced, youth-led podcast created by a professor in The University of Toledo College of Health and Human Services to elevate young voices on the issue of youth gun violence, is launching its second season.

"Teenagers have this reputation of being disengaged and honestly are sometimes seen as dangerous. We want to shift that view," said Dr. Heather Sloane Cleary, a professor of social work. "When you take the time to listen, what they have to say is really insightful and important."

"No More Silence" features a mix of insights and writings from high school and UToledo students, as well as interviews with faculty members, other local experts and community leaders on the complex causes and effects of youth gun violence. It also explores the concept of adultism, or a dismissive adult bias against young people.

The first episode of the second season will be released today, Wednesday, Sept. 24. The full series is available on the WGTE Public Media website.

Much of Sloane Cleary's academic research is focused on social determinates of health and the importance of empathy in cultural competence.

For the last decade, Sloane Cleary has led the Fearless Writers project, which pairs local high school students with an interdisciplinary group of UToledo students. The creative writing project provides a creative outlet to engage area teenagers in social justice issues and gives them a platform to discuss the issues and experiences affecting them and the neighborhoods in which they live. Since 2022, the project also has included community members alongside the high school students who have traditionally participated in the program.

More recently, she took the reins of the RAM Empowerment Project at Rogers High School in Toledo, which also has a focus on reducing youth gun violence.

"No More Silence" grew out of those projects.

Sloane Cleary had already worked with WGTE Public Media on a mini documentary follow up to "Sons of Toledo," a 2021 film co-written and produced by Dr. Matt Foss, a professor of theater and film, that tells the story of a Toledo barber whose brother had been murdered.

"Sons of Toledo is a powerful film, but the young voices are missing from it. In that story, the young people are silent," she said. "We wanted to bring the young voices into that conversation."

Following that film's release, Sloane Cleary was approached about creating a podcast, which grew into "No More Silence." The podcast launched its debut season in February.

In addition to contributions from high school students, the 11-episode first season included the voices of a variety of UToledo students, including those studying medicine, social work, recreational therapy, as well as interviews with local violence interrupters, religious leaders and UToledo faculty experts such as Dr. Celia Williamson, a Distinguished University Professor of social work and executive director of the UToledo Human Trafficking and Social Justice Institute.

"We want to kind of light the flame for high school students around civic engagement, that they do have a voice and that young people are very bright," Sloane Cleary said. "I think that youth get dismissed as potential advocates, as potential researchers, as potential leaders. This is a way for us to help elevate those voices and give them a platform to reach the community."