JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Survivors of crime and families impacted by violence marched together Saturday morning during the 5th Annual Survivors Speak Healing Vigil Day of Action.
Dozens of community members impacted by local crime gathered at Memorial Park in Riverside to call for change.
Jessica Chappelle was there to remember 23 year old son who was killed one year ago.
“I’m just still trying to get justice for my baby," Chappelle said. “I’m just want to get to know other people that’s going through what I’m going through cause a lot of people don’t understand.”
That sense of community is what brought this group together. The event held at memorial Park is just one of dozens ‘Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice’ events held in cities across the country.
Not only are family of those lost to violence here but survivors of violence like Feletta Smith who was shot multiple times over a decade ago.
“We come together to heal, create a safe space, tell our story and change lives," Feletta Smith, a member of Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice, said.
The message to others in the community is simple.
“When you see something say something, because I feel like when you speak up and say something and get together then it will make a change," Smith said.