Hear Foundation shows the fruits of talking, and listening, across divides
At the August Wilson Center on Wednesday, Scott Schubert and Leon Ford sat together at a table on stage like old friends, instead of representatives of historically antagonistic tribes. No one would have bet they had much in common — much less smile and joke around together.
Mr. Schubert is Pittsburgh’s outgoing chief of police. Garfield resident Mr. Ford was left paralyzed after being shot five times by a cop who mistook him for someone else during a traffic stop.
They were there to unveil the Hear Foundation, a collaboration between law enforcement and the city’s youth to fund projects that foster positive relations between these two groups.
The project, at least two years in the making, was fueled by local and national protests about the murder of George Floyd. Intense conversations about community policing the two men began having that summer.
Representing distinct groups that had little reason to trust each other, Mr. Ford and Mr. Schubert knew they had to find common ground for the sake of the city they both loved. Decrying gun violence in the name of public safety seemed a sincere and logical place to start for two men who see the world so differently.
What began as a tentative but frank discussion that included airing differences soon became a pragmatic and constructive search for ways to defy community expectations by working together for the common good.
The Hear Foundation is still in the early stages, securing funding and developing approaches that work best for individual groups. The projects that the Hear Foundation will fund include Voices Against Violence in the South Hills, Hope for Tomorrow in the West End and Youth Enrichment Services in East Liberty.
Pittsburgh police engagement officers will appear at those summer camps at least once a week along with mental health professionals from Imagine Further. The camps are designed to be a holistic experience.
The unusual friendship between Mr. Ford, an innocent man whose life was changed irrevocably after getting shot in the spine, and Mr. Schubert, a man who has been in local law enforcement for decades, is a living model of how the Hear Foundation can become an operational success.
An organization formed in the fires of protest can lead to peace in some corners of the city’s fractured community — thanks to the courage of two very different men who agreed to talk, and to listen.