INDIANAPOLIS — A local mentoring group that works to get young men on the right path is grieving the loss of one of their own.
17-year-old Dashawn Gilbert was shot and killed on Halloween on the far east side. On Wednesday, the group met to talk about grief and gun violence.
“This space is important because everybody in this space cares about them genuinely,” said 18-year-old Patrick Collier.
The weekly meetings at New B.O.Y.'s new headquarters, located off on East 36th Place, give Collier and dozens of other young men an outlet every week.
This Wednesday, it was something especially needed as dozens of kids showed up.
“He [Dashawn] was a part of our New B.O.Y. mentoring program. He has a brother who was in our mentoring program and a lot of times, we don't allow our young men an opportunity to grieve,” said the group’s founder, Kareem Hines.
Dozens of those boys got the chance to remember Gilbert.
The 17-year-old was found dead in the road near Brook Crossing Lane, just blocks from his house.
He’s one of two kids who were shot on Halloween.
IMPD said another juvenile male was shot earlier that day around 2:45 p.m. near the 3400 block of Falcon Drive.
“This is super important. If they don’t have this space, they’re not going to have anybody else in their lives that’s really trying to connect with them,” said Collier.
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Gilbert marks Indianapolis’ eighth homicide victim under 18 this year, according to IMPD.
Even though that’s lower than in recent years, Hines told WRTV that just one is too many.
“The kids have become desensitized to it because they see it and they live it. But I think it's so, so important to give them a space to be able to talk about it, not be judged,” he said.
He hopes talking about it is a step to changing it.
“They're keeping it inside, and when they do let it out, it becomes self-destructive, and they let it out in the school systems, and we see the fights they let out in the community, and we see the fights and the gun violence,” Hines explained. “What we want to do is provide them with an outlet throughout the week, five to seven days a week, where you can get it out in a constructive environment.”
“If we have a room full of 30 boys, we hope one of them goes home with a different mindset,” Collier added.
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IMPD is still investigating the deadly shooting that took Gilbert’s life.
If you have information, you can call IMPD Detective Jose Torres at 317.327.3475 or e-mail him at Jose.Torres@indy.gov.
You can also contact Crime Stoppers anonymously at 317.262.TIPS.
For more information on New B.O.Y., click here.
