JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Keith Bennett remembers his son Brandon Brightman as an athlete with his whole life ahead of him. He was killed in Jacksonville when he was 19 years old.
“He was looking forward to the future. He was trying to pursue a basketball career. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time and ended up getting shot,” Bennett said.
For Terry Corey, the pain is threefold. Her sister, nephew and grandson are all victims of gun violence.
This woman's pain is threefold. She lost her sister, nephew and a grandson to violence in Jacksonville.
— Brittney Donovan (@brittneyANjax) February 17, 2020
On CBS47 at Noon, how she and other families want to stop the cycle of violence and what a trip to Tallahassee means to them as they try to heal @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/H1IaLBdWZf
“We’re all grieving and we’re here to heal, come together as one and share our different stories,” she said.
United by their pain, 74 people boarded a bus in Jacksonville Monday. They left for Tallahassee at 8 a.m. to join hundreds of crime victims for the "Survivors Speak” event.
The group is asking lawmakers for more support for victims and their families. They also want to see new policies to prevent crimes before they happen by rehabilitating offenders.
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“We need to look out for each other,” Beverly McClain said. “Sometimes I think if somebody would’ve been there for them, it wouldn’t be like it is now.”
McClain has been giving families and young kids support for years through Families of Slain Children Inc. She said she is glad to see families stepping up and taking action.
“I’m going up there and I’m going to tell them my story,” Gale Williams said. “How this man came in our front yard, gunned down my 19-year-old brother for nothing.”
The families’ goal is to stop other families from experiencing their same pain.
“It never goes away. You just learn how to deal with it,” Williams said. “You learn how to cope.”
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