DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - Decatur has already seen more than a dozen shootings in 2021.

Community leaders said preventing gun violence means reaching out to the youth. Four mothers who have been affected by gun violence shared their pain with the hopes it reaches the youth. 

It has been two-and-a-half years since Ashton Gray was shot and killed. Suave Turner was a father of two and Corey Laster's oldest son is a freshman in high school. Gun violence brought their mothers together.

Nowadays, they're advocating for peace in central Illinois. Janet 'CoCo' Hill, Suave's mother, described the grieving process as a struggle. 

"It's very hard," she said. 

Jera Jentry, Ashton's mother, asked young people to "have respect for people. Have respect for life."

"Because I'm seeing less and less of that every single day," Jera Gentry added. 

For more than an hour, an audience of kids and teens saw first hand the damage gun violence causes to families. Hill said if her son's story touched the heart of at least one person, "that one person will save somebody else's life." 

The Shemilah Sanders Outreach Center set up the event. They told WAND News there are plans to create a space for parents (who have been affected by gun violence) to talk to a counselor.Â