Grieving parents gather to help Stop the Violence
Chattanooga, TN (WDEF) – Grieving mother Abby Smart addressed the group of parents and community members gathered at Booker T. Washington State Park Thursday night. She said, "My baby knows what happened to her mom, and no child should have to grow up like this. So I’m saying if you all can reach out to your family members for me, and for people like me, and talk to them. Some of these people that are young, they’re going the wrong way, they need that."
Smart shared her story in an effort to make sure other parents never lose another child to violence.
Neighborhood Association Leader James Moreland helped organize Thursday night’s event. He said, "There are some parents that have lost kids to violence, kids that are no longer with us. And there are parents who have kids that unfortunately made the bad choice of taking a life and those kids are in prison." Moreland added, "So in both cases those parents have lost their kids."
His organization ‘Healing on Both Sides’ has two goals. Give healing and support to those parents and to try to stop the violence committed by young people across Chattanooga. To "Stop the violence, put the gun down, remove themselves from gang activities and become good citizens and stop this killing."
Paul David Smith serves as Chattanooga’s Public Safety Coordinator. He said, "One of the most powerful things I heard tonight was when one parent said her child shot and killed my child, but I stand with her because we both suffered loss, and let’s heal together. That’s powerful. And when you have that kind of attitude and that atmosphere about healing in Chattanooga, this is only the beginning."
Because of gun violence, Eddie Worbington had to quit his job in order to raise his now 4-year-old son alone. "I’ve got to make sure he doesn’t become violent, just like the next person is violent. That’s what my job is now. To make sure he doesn’t want to retaliate, because his mother’s dead. That’s the hardest thing I’ve got to do, is to keep him strong."
The moms and dads who spoke at this evening’s event will go to other recreation centers across the city to appeal to Chattanooga’s youth to stop the violence.
Smart shared her story in an effort to make sure other parents never lose another child to violence.
Neighborhood Association Leader James Moreland helped organize Thursday night’s event. He said, "There are some parents that have lost kids to violence, kids that are no longer with us. And there are parents who have kids that unfortunately made the bad choice of taking a life and those kids are in prison." Moreland added, "So in both cases those parents have lost their kids."
His organization ‘Healing on Both Sides’ has two goals. Give healing and support to those parents and to try to stop the violence committed by young people across Chattanooga. To "Stop the violence, put the gun down, remove themselves from gang activities and become good citizens and stop this killing."
Paul David Smith serves as Chattanooga’s Public Safety Coordinator. He said, "One of the most powerful things I heard tonight was when one parent said her child shot and killed my child, but I stand with her because we both suffered loss, and let’s heal together. That’s powerful. And when you have that kind of attitude and that atmosphere about healing in Chattanooga, this is only the beginning."
Because of gun violence, Eddie Worbington had to quit his job in order to raise his now 4-year-old son alone. "I’ve got to make sure he doesn’t become violent, just like the next person is violent. That’s what my job is now. To make sure he doesn’t want to retaliate, because his mother’s dead. That’s the hardest thing I’ve got to do, is to keep him strong."
The moms and dads who spoke at this evening’s event will go to other recreation centers across the city to appeal to Chattanooga’s youth to stop the violence.
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