HAMPTON, Va. - The North Phoebus Community Center in Hampton hosted a “Community Day” earlier Friday evening. It was all part of the city’s recognition of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week and Youth Violence Prevention Week.
Hampton leaders banded together in solidarity in an effort to curb violence.
The weeklong event brings people together to raise awareness about ways to prevent youth violence and also make schools and neighborhoods safer for kids and families.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), gun violence was the leading cause of death for all children and teens ages 1 to 19 in 2018. And for every child or teen fatally shot, another five suffered non-fatal gunshot wounds.
At Thursday night’s event in Hampton, News 3 spoke to one of the event organizers who herself is a mother who lost children to gun violence, and she wanted to show her support for anything that can help end the senseless violence.
“Anytime that I see somebody lost a loved one - or not even that - if I can go out and support that person or that family, then that's what we do, too,” said mother Mary Thompson. “And we go out, we support people. Anytime they need us, we do what we got to do.”
Thompson also said that she thinks having events like this allows them to come out, meet their neighbors and support their community by looking out for one another.
Related: Upcoming program in Hampton puts a new spin on combating gun violence
