Vigils are meant to offer solidarity and comfort to grieving people, a pause from the chaos of murder. But in May as a group gathered for 18 year old Kendrai Walker’s vigil - not even 24 hours after his death - gunmen opened fire.
Bullets struck Kendrai’s mother, Debra Hopkins. Community organizer Shawn Moore was there, talking to Debra when it happened.
“I'm tired of the teddy bears and the bottles and the candles because it doesn't represent life... and you drive down these blocks and it’s a cemetery,” says Moore.
Moore is part of the Helping Others Obtain Direction, or H.O.O.D., Ambassador program in the Garden Homes neighborhood. It’s a program aimed at empowering community members, and interrupting the violence. You can find more information at PreciousLivespPoject.org.