When it comes to stopping the violence—a group of Killeen community members want their neighbors to know it’s a joint effort.
Sunday, Killeen residents were invited to bring the whole family to Long Branch Park, 'Stop the Violence rally'. For the younger crowd, bounce houses, water slides, and horse rides were just a few of the activities to keep them busy.
One of the event organizers, Jerzey, of Subzero Entertainment, decided to focus on the kids to remind they are a valuable part of the community.
“The younger generation is going down a bad path. We want to show they can make the world a better place,” Jerzey said.
Adults were invited to listen to speeches from community leaders and city councilmen as well as strategizing how to deal with the recent violence affecting the community.
For organizers, the first step was recognizing they had a problem in the community. As they heard reports of shooting and incidents of gang violence, they wanted to be proactive in fixing the situation.
Darryl Leonard, another who helped organized today’s event, wanted to create a space where people could come together and work on solutions.
“It’s not up to just the police, it’s up to everyone to get involved,” Leonard said.
While there are several potential causes for violence, Jerzey believes that conflict can easily be avoided.
“There's definitely other ways to handle stuff everything doesn't need to be taken to that level. We can definitely just talk things out, a lot of the times the violence is over miscommunication,” he said.
In the end, organizers believe each individual can have a powerful effect at ending violence.
"The World's a tough place you know but if we all come together a little bit we can make the world better," Jerzey said.
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