MILWAUKEE — People in Milwaukee joined a nationwide effort happening through December to honor and remember the victims of violence Saturday afternoon.
Dozens gather at House of Prayer church for a vigil led by the Donavan Hines Foundation of Exuberance, which offers grief counseling support to people who have lost loved ones.
For mom Julie Powells the event was an opportunity to connect with others who understand her struggle to move forward after her son was shot and killed in February.
“The depression comes and goes,” she said. “You can be sitting here and laughing one minute, the next minute it hit you so hard you just break down."
Powell and other attendees said the hope is for people in the community to look to the names and faces, on display at the event, and recognize how big of an issue the violence is.
“If you look at all the people that lost their child or loved ones, Milwaukee is so depressed and there’s so much anxiety going on,” Powell said. “All these people and all this grieving and stuff, no wonder the city is in the chaos that it’s in today.”
She said part of the solution means making it harder for someone to take the life of another. For Powell it’s especially concerning how inexpensive and easily available bullets are.
She also said while she’s grateful Milwaukee police were able to catch her son’s killers, she wishes she was left with more than memories.
"Marquise is a really sweet person,” she said. “He’s very high spirited. He was his own person.”
Milwaukee’s mayor Cavalier Johnson and Police Chief Jeffrey Norman were also in attendance Saturday.
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