What’s up with the Violence?

Sometimes war feels close to home. The same violence that occurs in war also plagues my community of Boston, Massachusetts. Today our world -- my world -- is filled with hatred, anger, and pain. I think to myself, if so many teenagers are dying now my whole generation of teenagers is going to be gone by the time I turn eighteen. Why must we kill each other?

When I was younger my cousin and I used to play games and spend time together. He had a good heart and was always there if you needed him. When I was fourteen years old, he was killed by six shots to the back, a few days after a fight. In 2008, I lost another close friend to violence. He was the quietest, sweetest, most caring person I will ever know. He loved to laugh and be around his close family and friends. Now he is resting in peace and being memorialized with teddy bears, pins, and memories.

With the violence in our city taking so many young lives, each new grief adds to a sense of desperation in our community. Sometimes the grief leads to more violence. As I walked into my friend's funeral, I felt a tense atmosphere. As the service began, my cousin and I clinched on to each other, still shaken up about our friend being gone. Some people offered songs, poems and tears to express what our friend had meant to them. But then screams rang out across the room. A fight had broken out. Police arrived and helped calm things down, and family members implored us to respect the dead enough to stop the violence. The service went on, but many of us were still upset.

The strength to stop the violence can come from the people hurt most by it. In our city, the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute was founded by Tina Chery, whose son was killed in 1993. This organization helps families in the time of need. One group at the Institute, Survivor Outreach Services (SOS) reaches out to families 24 to 48 hours after a murder has taken place. They try to support families in the best way they can so the families can stay strong. More than 300 families have been helped since this program's inception.

The Institute has also created materials for children to be used in schools, to help children cope with the loss of loved ones and learn how to deal with violence in the community. Another group started at the Louis D. Brown Institute (Massachusetts Mothers on the Move) is a long-term group that brings together mothers of victims and mothers whose children are incarcerated. Despite this good work, the state of Massachusetts slashed $70,000, half of the Institute's budget, during a $1 billion round of budget cuts in November 2008. The Institute is rallying its supporters to raise enough money to continue its work.

Through their pain, these families reach out to others to make our city, and our world, a safer place. With support and love, families do survive the pain. But the pain never ends.

Contributions to the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute can be sent to 1452 Dorchester Ave., 2nd floor, Dorchester MA 02122; www.louisdbrownpeaceinstitute.org.