Columbus organization celebrates Gun Violence Awareness Day
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – Every gun death leaves other torn-up lives in its wake.
Those who are affected are finding ways to raise awareness and reverse the trend.
National Gun Violence Awareness Day was June 6.
A Columbus-led organization called Turning It Around hosted the Orange for Life event today to raise awareness.
dozens of people came together to show support for their loved ones who were killed by guns.
Attendees said this may not bring their relatives back, but it does mean that they will be remembered.
“Turning it around, we are a crime victim advocate. We do healing, we do mentoring, and we work with a lot of youth,” Jacquel Brown said. “We just do a lot in the community. We help families with all kinds of issues and situations.”
The Orange for Life event held at the Townsend Community Center Stage recognizes National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
The Turning It Around organization strives to bring the community together.
“So, we are celebrating gun violence awareness,” Brown said. “We celebrated it from June 6-8 each year. So, we are just trying to get the community together to keep away gun violence and all that in the community.”
The event offered free food and music for all attendees.
The Turning it Around organization is dedicated to taking the pain from gun violence and turning it into something meaningful with unity.
“I lost my son, grandson, and my nephew to gun violence and that’s why I am celebrating this event,” Brown said. “It’s so many lives that have been lost to gun violence in this community and all over the nation. So, when you get a set of people who standing around you and help you through this situation. It brings up a strong community.”
The organization plans to host more events to bring attention to its cause and bring the community together.
