Peace activist and families of gun violence victims talk change and healing

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — Gun violence is something which plagues cities all across America, including Albany.

“He was a good family man. He didn’t cause any trouble," says Brittany Williams, the sister of shooting victim Jimmy Moore. Moore was shot and killed near the corner of 1st Street and Lexington Avenue in Albany in September 2020.

Moore's sister Brittany has a message for the community: "Look out for one another. Look at the kids. Like I said, family man. Kids man. Look out for his [Jimmy's] family. That’s who hurts the most. Look out for his family.” 

Williams, along with the family of shooting victim Lamon Lanier, are spreading awareness about gun violence with Collective Souls Holding Space founder Carrie Livingston. Livingston says coming together, instead of suffering in silence, is one way families can work through grief.

“We need each other. And so collective souls are all of us coming together and helping each other like uplift the community. So if you have lost somebody and then you meet somebody else that has also lost somebody, then you have that connection," Livingston says.

Williams believes if people truly want the violence to stop, it comes down to educating children so they can eventually be the change. "We just show them differently because we lead by example. So, if we don’t lead by example, we can talk to them, but if they don’t see you doing it, that’s a different thing. So we just show them. Talk to them and just be there.” 

Ultimately, each victim's family knows nothing will bring back the ones they lost, but the hope is for other families to never know their pain.