PEORIA, Ill. – More than two dozen people marched from Peoria City Hall through South Peoria Saturday, encouraging the community to help reduce violence in the city.
The Stop the Violence March comes as violent incidents continue in the city, especially involving youth.
Marcher Keri Hayes told 25 News change is desperately needed in Peoria.
“The community itself is crying out for help,” she said. “I’ve lost several friends throughout the years to gun violence, and it’s just time that we as a community start being accountable for the gun violence.”
Hayes said her losses have been traumatic not only for herself, but for others around her. She believes the march is one way to raise awareness about a problem that needs to be addressed, especially when it comes to violence among young people.
She said she wants to see more violence prevention education as well as positive outlets for youth.
“We’re asking the community to come together as one and have those conversations,” Hayes said. “They are difficult, but you must have those conversations to know what your kids are doing.”
Next Level Academies president and march organizer Antonio Lipscomb said action against violence in the city is long overdue.
“When you think about violence and how often it has occurred in our communities, we tend to make it commonplace,” Lipscomb said. “It’s time for us to bring about a change.”
He said the march is one instance where people can gather in solidarity to collaborate on how to address ongoing issues.
“We are better together when we work together and think about others who may not be able to have a voice for themselves,” Lipscomb said.
Lipscomb said he also hopes the march showed others that there are people in their neighborhoods who are working to address violence.
“We all know that we can only have a certain part in solving the violence problem, but if we bring all of the parts together, that’s what really makes the greatest impact,” Lipscomb said.
Comments