Voices of Survivors

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Bonded by tragedy, members of several Louisville families have joined together to help create a positive change within the city. 

Through Christopher 2X Game Changers' newest initiative, a program called "Voices of Survivors" is launching. There are about one dozen members in the group, each of which has lost a loved one due to gun violence.

The group will not only serve to support each other, but members will also work together to brainstorm ideas and create youth outreach programs to try and prevent future violence. 

"I'm pretty anxious to meet some of these families," said Donna Munoz, a member of Voices of Survivors who lost her brother-in-law in a shooting at a Louisville Olive Garden in 2019. "I've heard their stories like they've heard ours, I'm sure."

Lakesia Jeffery, another member of the group, lost her 26-year-old son in a shooting near Shively in December 2020. 

2020 was a record year for homicides in Louisville with 173 reported.

"I can not believe my child was one of that 173," Jeffery said. "He's not a number. He was a human being. He was here on this earth. He's never a number. So that's what I'm fighting for."

There have already been more than 40 homicides in Louisville so far in 2021.

Jeffery said she doesn't want another mother to feel the pain she does but knows that so many in the city already do. She, along with others in Voices of Survivors, hope to use their situation to speak up against violence and possibly save a life in the future. 

"We're trying to stop what has happened to this generation and not to happen to the next generation," she said. "We're trying to get people to mentor young children."

Munoz also has ideas she's looking forward to bringing to the group.

"I'm hoping that now with the kids getting back to school, I have this thing in my mind to get them from behind the guns and get them back behind the books. Right? Get them off the streets. Let them make friends," she said. "If I can make a difference in one life, I've accomplished something."

According to Christopher 2X, the group will meet monthly at the Galt House Hotel, beginning in April. Every other week, the group will meet online. For anyone interested in becoming part of Voices of Survivors, click here.

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