Households and mates of individuals murdered gathered within the State Home on Thursday, kicking off Murder Consciousness Month to help communities impacted by comparable tragedies.
“Even in the memories that are painful, my hope still continues,” mentioned Beatriz Couho, the mom of Joel Leon, who was killed in South Boston in 2014 on the age of 19. … “I hope your children and my children will find peace in our world and our neighborhood.”
The twenty fourth annual Survivors of Murder Victims Consciousness Month, organized in Massachusetts by the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute and companion organizations, started on Nov. 20 and was marked Thursday with a ceremony within the Nice Corridor on the State Home. The ceremony featured two moms who misplaced their sons to murder, audio system from the Peace Institute, the Massachusetts Workplace of Sufferer Help director, state Sen. Nick Collins, and state Rep. Chris Worrell.
The initiative is devoted to “educating the public and policymakers on the profound impact of homicide on families,” the institute states.
“This is an opportunity to come together, to be in unity together, to celebrate, to grieve,” mentioned Alexandra Chery-Dorrelus, Co-Government Director of the Peace Institute, “and then also to use this month to educate policymakers about what our legislative priorities are and make sure we’re impacting policy that positively impact survivors of homicide victims.”
Amongst their coverage objectives, institute Co-Government Director Rachel Rodrigues mentioned, they wish to help extra bereavement depart for individuals who lose family members to murder, noting that three days is “not realistic.”
Audio system from state businesses and the Legislature emphasised toll of dropping a beloved one and the necessity for state help inside the group, with Sen. Collins telling the individuals gathered Thursday “your voices are heard here.”
All through the state, organizations via the Massachusetts Survivors Community will host occasions throughout the consciousness month to permit individuals to assemble and advocate.
Linda Smith, who’s son Dreshaun Johnson was 23 when he was killed in Roslindale in 2022, mentioned these occasions, her work serving to different survivors and the scholarship funds she raises in her son’s title assist her “transform my pain into power.”
“I see him in nature, in colors, in rainbows, and in the world around me,” Smith mentioned, remembering her son to the gang gathered Thursday. “He checks up on me to see if I’m okay.”
