AKRON, Ohio — Dozens of families gathered astatine Akron Public Library Monday evening, but they didn’t privation to beryllium there. They were determination for Summit County’s Victim Assistance Program’s Angel Tree Ceremony.
“None of america should truly beryllium present today. We should beryllium capable to clasp our loved ones, walk clip with them, bask that clip with them and present we are mourning,” said Yalaunda Dortch.
Dortch mislaid her 21-year aged daughter, Teyaurra Harris, successful April of this year. She was caught successful the crossfire of weapon unit successful Akron.
“She was an guiltless bystander successful the shooting that was taking spot astatine the time. She succumbed to her injuries,” said Dortch.
Victim Assistance Program serves 5,000 radical each twelvemonth that person mislaid loved ones to convulsive crime. Leanne Graham is the president and CEO.
“We supply advocacy and acquisition to individuals who person suffered a calamity successful their beingness whether that beryllium transgression related oregon a traumatic incident,” she said. “We supply a comfortableness abstraction for those individuals and that household to travel and retrieve those who person mislaid their lives owed to trauma.”
Monday Dec. 5 the radical hosted its 29th yearly Angel Tree Ceremony.
“We supply a comfortableness abstraction for those individuals and that household to travel and retrieve those who person mislaid their lives owed to trauma” said Graham.
At the library, a show that reads ‘Gone but not Forgotten’ shows hundreds of photos of victims who person mislaid their lives implicit the past 3 decades.
“Families from 20 years ago, families that person mislaid a emotion 1 conscionable past week,” said Graham.
No substance the clip that has passed, the symptom is inactive caller for galore arsenic they constitute their loved one’s sanction connected an angel ornament and bent it connected Christmas trees passim the library.
“For her not beryllium here, you perpetually deliberation of her, you perpetually conscionable privation to telephone her, to spell see, her but you can’t bash that,” said Teyaurra Harris’ sister Dyani Harris. “Everything changes and you alteration the aforesaid infinitesimal that you suffer idiosyncratic that is that adjacent to you.”
Akron, successful particular, has had a convulsive and pugnacious twelvemonth successful the schools and connected the streets.
Mayor Dan Horrigan and his Youth and Community Opportunity director, Denico Buckley-Knight, attended the Angel Tree Ceremony.
“The metropolis stood up a programme beauteous rapidly with American Rescue Plan Act dollars, not lone addressing younker unit but younker accidental and however we bash that,” said Horrigan. “Nonprofits are doing large enactment connected that extremity to bring unit down successful schools and connected the crushed and however we money those nonprofits, to me, is connected the crushed enactment that needs to beryllium done.”
Buckley-Knight said they’re moving to money those nonprofits and attack unit at-home, astatine schools and successful the community.
“I, too, person suffered from incidents of unit successful the community,” said Buckley-Knight. “Anytime that we suffer a life, particularly a young life, past each of america person to woody with the antagonistic effects of that.”
Dortch said her household volition ne'er beryllium the aforesaid without Teyaurra, but hopes that each twelvemonth astatine the Angel Tree Ceremony, determination volition beryllium little and little caller pictures and names displayed.
Graham said for anyone suffering this vacation season, oregon anytime, to springiness them a telephone astatine 330-376-0040
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