INDIANAPOLIS — A city program is helping mentors reach gunshot victims before they return to the cycle of violence.
The Indy Peace Fellowship's goal is to stop gun violence and place coaches with those who are at the highest risk of being shot or the ones behind the gun.
It partners one of 14 mentors with gunshot victims at IU Methodist.
"I wanted to mentor growing up and nobody would listen to me," said Ty'trell Averitte-Bass.
Daniel Mallory has not left 21-year old Averitte-Bass' side since he woke up at IU Methodist Hospital.
"I had to suffer through nine gunshot wounds," said Averitte-Bass. "One actually broke my femur bone and busted a vein in my leg."
On June 3, Averitte-Bass was shot in front of a Riverside gas station.
Doctors told him he would never walk again but it's an obstacle he's already powered through.
"I had six surgeries," said Averitte-Bass. "It was hard but for me to recover but now I can walk faster than they every thought."
It's a lifestyle he said he wanted out of and instead of returning to the cycle, Mallory stepped in as his life coach.
The pairing was thanks to the program and has brought the two close together.
The bond between the two goes deep and Mallory can connect because it was a life he used to live.
"Whether it be drugs or guns, I pretty much flew under that plateau," said Mallory. "It was me finding a way to be able to utilize my experience and utilize the things that's happened to me to help somebody else and give that back."
“Hospitals are often overlooked as a key point of intervention for community violence. The Indy Peace HVIP demonstrates the power of leveraging this setting to reach individuals at high risk of re-injury," said Dane Nutty, President and CEO of the Indy Pubic Safety Foundation. "Addressing gun violence requires a multifaceted approach, and this program is a prime example of how we can make a tangible difference in people’s lives."
The city of Indianapolis says criminal homicides have dropped by more than 30% since the program began in 2022.
