Community leaders gathered to figure out a plan for reducing violence in Jackson
The 3rd Annual Summit to Reduce Violence was held on Wednesday at the American One Center
LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - People who live, work, and play in Jackson are coming together to create a plan to help put an end to violence.
“As a parent, being told that your child is not coming home, is very hard. That is something that you live with forever,” said Lashanda Walker, whose daughter was killed by gun violence.
On Wednesday, community leaders and residents held the 3rd Annual Summit to Reduce Violence.
It’s not an easy task but the City of Jackson is working to create a plan that will put a stop to violence throughout the community.
You might recall the shooting in 2021 where 25-year-old Krashawna Walker was killed a 20-year-old woman in Jackson.
“One shot is fired at that threat. Only one. And that individual passes,” said defense attorney, Kareem Johnson.
Walker’s mother, Lashanda, spoke at the summit. Her message was simple. She said stopping any kind of violence starts at home. “Making sure that your household has standards. That we, as adults, are able to be corrected when we are wrong and using emotional maturity when anger is happening.”
When the summit first started, the focus was to identify problems caused by violence. The following year, that focus shifted to finding solutions.
This year, the community says it’s time to take action to put an end to violence.
“One thing that I know about violence is it does not care who you are,” said Jackson Mayor Daniel Mahoney. “It does not care where you are. It does not care how much money or how little money you have.”
During the summit, students like Darrion Weller shared personal stories that hit close to home. “Recently, we just had a family member die from gun violence.”
Those stories were followed by a conversation on how to stop violent crimes from happening in the community they call home.
Weller said, “Guns, that’s not always the answer. You don’t always have to hurt somebody to get your way out of a situation. Talk it out. Have healthy arguments. Healthy confrontations. All that negative stuff is not necessary.”
“We need to speak up,” said Lashanda. “Because if you do not speak up, just like it happened to me in my household, it can come and happen to you in yours.”
Community leaders plan to have more of these events until violence has no place in their community.
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