Philly's March for Our Lives organizes gun violence summit
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Organizers of the Philadelphia chapter of March for Our Lives came together on Saturday at Philadelphia Masjid for a summit aiming to end gun violence in the city. Some people who are directly impacted by gun violence were taking part in the event in West Philadelphia.
"Somebody tried to shoot at me and my friends," Mardean Murray from North Philadelphia said.
Murray was among dozens of people who gathered at a mosque in West Philadelphia Saturday seeking solutions to gun violence.
"A lot of young lives is at stake in Philadelphia," Murray said.
A local group is trying to make a difference.
"I lost my two sons to mistaken identity ten years apart," Movita Johnson-Harrell, founder of the Charles Foundation, said.
Johnson-Harrell says she also lost three other family members to gun violence.
The Philadelphia-based nonprofit Charles Foundation is named after one of Johnson-Harrell's sons and dedicated to saving young people's lives.
The group hosted a youth gun violence prevention summit.
"We know that hurt people hurt people," Johnson-Harrell said, "and when you live in a community that's so inundated with gun violence, you are traumatized."
The goal is to empower teenagers and young adults by teaching them conflict resolution and offering resources to address underlying trauma.
The summit offered workshops, panel discussions and an art display that was meant to be therapeutic.
A specific room at the summit had paintings of murder victims and other people touched by gun violence.
"We bring people into a room and tell you that we see you by putting art in your face of stories that are very similar to yours," Zarinah Lomax, founder and curator of the art project The Apologues, said.
Anger, fear and pain are some of the emotions people may feel when looking at the face of someone they've lost. This art experience aims to help people move from under the grief umbrella onto a path of healing.
"A lot of people are not healing because they feel like nobody gets it," Lomax said. "When you're in a room full of people that get it, we can help you through your process."
Pennsylvania State Senator Vincent Hughes says officials are investing in ways to protect communities from violent crime.
"In this last budget cycle in Harrisburg, we had a $300 million increase in funding to deal with all of the aspects of gun violence," Hughes, a Democrat, said.
A recent study showed that fixing urban blight can lead to a drop in shootings, so the Charles Foundation is hosting a community cleanup event next Saturday as they continue the fight for a future free of gun violence.
