INDIANAPOLIS — Gun violence continues to impact the city of Indianapolis.
So far, the city has seen at least five homicides in the first week of 2024.
“Definitely where I’m from, you don’t have about gun violence,” Diane Holt said. “Now, it’s just about every night you are hearing about two or three people getting killed.”
Holt lives in the 46201 zip code. It’s one of the five zip codes that have seen its fair share of gun violence.
“Resolving conflict isn’t easy, communicating isn’t easy,” Vanessa Romero, with the Indy Center for Conflict Resolution, said.
The center works to teach people how to solve their problems without using a gun.
“It’s the last thing that someone wants to do. They don’t want to talk to someone they are in conflict with,” Romero said.
The center works with the Indy Peace Fellowship to be a part of the solution to stopping gun violence before it begins. It's a part of the 'I Choose Peace' campaign for the month of January. Both organizations are part of the Indy Public Safety Foundation.
“There are 99 neighborhoods in the city of Indianapolis. We want to provide a trained mediator in every neighborhood,” Romero said.
A part of their new initiative is holding mock community sessions that put community members is in real life situations and teach them how to resolve conflict.
