Baltimore organization honors gun violence victims during National Gun Violence Prevention Month
BALTIMORE -- National Gun Violence Prevention Day was Friday and local organizations marked the day with Stop the Violence events all around Baltimore City.
Let's Thrive Baltimore is celebrating five years of working with the community and young people to decrease violence. Many of the people in attendance have lost loved ones to gun violence and they hope it will stop, city wide.
"We are honoring our loved ones we don't want people to forget, we want to remember the good times," Lisa Molock, executive director of Let's Thrive Baltimore, said.
The event marked the first weekend of many, where gun violence prevention will be at the forefront. This community gathering was in their healing garden – which honors victims of gun violence. The event included a bounce house, food, music, and a healing circle for prayer and remembrance.
Molock has lost several people in her family, but says it is her job to make sure the violence comes to an end by engaging the community, especially children.
"We also want to make sure that we redirect the young people and their families, right? And make sure that they're set up for success and that they can thrive," Molock said.
Jahzarra Thomas, 17, is the youth director for the organization. She says Let's Thrive Baltimore put her on the right path for success. Now, she wants to do the same for others.
"I feel like I've come to a place where I can really take control of my life. I can take control of the environments around me. I learned how to be a leader," Thomas said.
The organization holds many events to help families with job placement, provide mental health resources and crisis intervention services.
Their focus remains on the next generation to make sure they are set up for success.
"Just like give them another path. Everything doesn't have to be violence. Everything doesn't have to be a big outburst. It should really be positivity; it can be so much more out of life and they could get so much more out of their own lives if they just tried," Thomas said.
The organization's goal is to reduce gun violence until Baltimore City has zero-gun violence deaths. While Molock notes the progress her team has made over a short period of time, she acknowledges the work is not over yet.
"We've been working hard to reduce gun violence and we have had some success. We cannot celebrate until there are zero lives lost, because one life is one too many," the executive director said.
Let's Thrive Baltimore is asking everyone to wear orange every Friday in June in honor of gun violence prevention. They also encourage people to go out in the community to make a positive impact, big or small.