“I think this is another activity to keep hope alive,” said Joseph Reaves Jr., whose family has been impacted by gun violence.
INDIANAPOLIS — Thanksgiving is days away, but organizers with Cease Fire Indy started the festivities early on the northeast side for two reasons: peace and unity.
“One of our biggest mottos with Cease Fire Indy is, ‘There’s no such thing as strangers. We are all family,'” said organizer Ron Gee. “When you’re looking at that I think it will kind of be hard for you to shoot your brother or your sister.”
For the third year in a row, Indianapolis has seen more than 200 homicides. Joseph Reaves Jr.’s family has been impacted by gun violence. He believes Indy needs more events like this to reach the community.
“I think this is another activity to keep hope alive,” he said. “We are moving in the right direction now. We still have a long way to go. A lot of people, especially our young people, more so than ever before need to have a voice to be heard.”
There’s no one solution to decreasing the violence in and around Indianapolis, but Lisa Miller said it starts at home.
“It takes us to help bring the village back because we lost track of that somewhere,” Miller said.
Cease Fire Indy said they try to focus not only on the numbers, but also on the opportunities to do better.
“We all have a part,” said organizer Della Brown. “It’s not just one person, one organization, one business. We all have a part, so everyone should get active and figure out what they can do to help our community.”
Reaves said that’s exactly what this is.
“It’s good to know we are learning to work together, and I think this is a positive thing for us to move in the right direction,” he said.
It’s a direction the group hopes will lead to more peaceful outcomes.
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