INDIANAPOLIS — Metro police are investigating yet another violent weekend in the Circle City. Between Friday and Sunday, a total of nine people were shot in Indianapolis at seven different shooting incidents.
Two men were found shot on the 800 block of Eugene St. on Indy’s northwest side Sunday. This is not the first shooting in this area, or even on this street, in recent months.
“Violence is going to occur, that’s the world,” said Terrance Hood. “But it’s getting close to home. I don’t want it to be too late for it to be your son before you finally decide to say something.”
It gets harder and harder for Terrance Hood to witness the violence occurring in his community.
“We’re killing each other,” said the Hood2Hood founder & CEO. “There has to be a better way than to pick up a gun. The murderers are getting younger and younger. 16, 15, 17. This is a trend. I don’t want to get numb to young black men losing their lives.”
Growing up on the west side himself, he founded a non-profit called Hood2Hood based in Haughville for underprivileged kids and teens to show them a better way.
“I’ve seen what these young kids are seeing, and I took that road that they’re continuing to take,” said Hood. “All my friends took that road. And we all, everybody went to prison. So I feel like when they see someone who’s been down that path turn their life around, they will follow that.”
He teaches them conflict resolution, he says, and how to change their community by giving back to it.
“If you give, it humbles you,” Hood said. “And when you’re humbled, you change. It’s real hard to commit violence when someone is looking out for you and holding your hand and teaching you right from wrong and showing you that they’re still good men and women out there. It takes a village to raise these kids and you can’t give up on them after they make one mistake. I’ve been there.”
Hood2Hood hosts food and clothing drives and delivers food to the elderly on the west side. He says it’s the community’s responsibility to get involved to put an end to all this violence.
“They’re going to follow what they see,” said Hood. “And that’s the way you change them is let them see you doing good. Let them see you giving back, let them see that you care about the people and you’re picking up trash in the neighborhood, or you’re making sure they get back-and-forth to school. Let them see that. And they will emulate that because that’s all they look up to.”
Hood2Hood is sponsoring 10 kids for Christmas. If you would like to donate to their Christmas drive, they are accepting money via CashApp: $thood2120
