Annual Victims Memorial Service Lets Survivors Share Special Stories
Chicago (CBS) -- Several hundred people gathered at the House of Hope, a church on the South Side, to remember and celebrate the lives of loved ones lost to violence.
For the 28th year, the Cook County State's Attorney's office hosted the Crime Victims' Memorial.
State's Attorney Kim Foxx shared her own story of grief: the loss of her father-in-law to a drunk driver.
"It's about honoring and celebrating those who brought joy to our lives. Who, for beyond explanation and rationale, were snatched from us," said Foxx. "It's also about coming together and acknowledging that pain."
A woman talked of her anger and guilt over the death of her sister, a victim of domestic violence, and how she was a social worker who missed the signs. She said there were times when she wanted to die.
Another woman talked about the senselessness death of her mother: A nurse who was followed home and shot to death by three men who wanted to steal the hood of her car, because one of the offenders had shot a bullet through the hood of his mother's Camry.
Foxx said the event was to not only celebrate the lives and memories of those lost to violence, but also to acknowledge the pain that never really goes away.