DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — Just 24 hours after a Decatur teen was shot and killed, the community is once again asking how another young life was cut short by gun violence.
"Immediately, I thought a child [had] lost his life. And there are things that he will never see, places he will never go. His friends will never hear him laugh or say something crazy again. It's a hole. It's emptiness. And I could feel it," said CREW leader Melverta Wilkins.
Local nonprofit CREW hopes to prevent future tragedies by working with local violence prevention organizations. Wilkins said one act of violence can create a domino effect. She is urging Decatur residents to support and comfort one another.
"It's very important that we're talking to families, talking to friends and saying this is not a time to retaliate, but this is a time to come together and encourage one another," Wilkins said.
Many people believe young people need more positive role models. Twenty-six-year-old Serron Pettis works with CREW to help steer youth away from violence.
"We're starting at the resource level and then going into the community with those people who wouldn't normally reach out, and then going into the victims, going into the people to help the people who are impacted by whatever's happened," Pettis said.
Now, his focus is on encouraging young people and helping them heal.
"Lean into those things that give you joy. There's not too much that can be done — or really anything that can be done — to fix whatever the situation is that happened. But the best thing that we can do is try to figure out a way to move forward," Pettis said.
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