INDIANAPOLIS — The friends, families and neighbors of at least 215 people in the City of Indianapolis are now left without a loved one this year after they became homicide victims.
“They're not just statistics. They're actually people,” said Ashlynne Walker with Siblings Changing and Restoring Society, or S.C.A.R.S.
As of the end of November, the city recorded 215 homicide victims. Last year set a record number of homicides, and by the end of November, there were 252 homicides.
“I would love to say that I feel like it's (violence in the city has) gotten better, but I just don't know if it has,” Walker said. Her sister was shot and killed 14 years ago. The case remains unsolved today.
Helping others is the force behind Walker’s organization S.C.A.R.S. The group focuses on tackling the mental health crisis.
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“We are moving in the right direction, but there's still work to be done,” said La Keisha Jackson, the CEO of the Pathway Resource Center on the city’s Far Eastside.
The city counselor said partnerships like those between grassroots organizations and agencies are key to gun violence prevention.
“No one agency can do it all. I don't think there's an agency out there. Even the United Ways of the world can't do it all,” Jackson said.
As 2022 comes to a close, Walker and Jackson agree it'll take the community to come together, have conversations, listen to one another and work together to put an end to the violence.
“Come together because there's that saying if you're not a part of the solution, you're part of the problem,” Walker said.
