Residents gathered Sunday at Comstock Park to connect and share resources, with the goal of preventing gun violence by strengthening the community.
- Lansing's Hood 2 Hood organization hosted its July community activation at Comstock Park.
- The Lansing Police Department has reported 22 non-fatal and three fatal shootings in the first half of the year.
- Organizer Michael Taylor says one more summer activation event is planned for next month.
WATCH: Community activation targets gun violence in Lansing
The Lansing Police Department has reported 22 non-fatal shootings and three fatal shootings in the first half of the year.
Michael Taylor, who works to prevent gun violence in Lansing through his organization Hood 2 Hood, hosted the July community activation at Comstock Park. The event offered meals, resources and community connection for attendees.
"It's been kind of a rough summer, man. We lost some… I don't even want to say some important people because everybody that we lose is important. But we lost some children this summer that did not deserve to go," Taylor said.
Taylor said the events are aimed at rebuilding neighborhood bonds.
"I'm hoping that I'm opening the doors of being community again. Of bringing the neighborhood back to the hood," Taylor said.
Caitlin Cornell, a volunteer at the event, said the gatherings serve as a reminder of the value of collaboration.
"It's a good reminder to come together, and rather than maybe reinventing the wheel and doing new things, I think we need to come together in community and find out what we're all already doing to help out our neighbors," Cornell said.
Taylor said his anti-violence work is rooted in his own past with gun violence.
"It's who I am, it's the life that I come from, and I feel like it's my contribution to repairing that which I played a part in destroying," Taylor said.
One more community activation event for the summer is scheduled for next month.
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