Gun Violence Prevention · Community Organizing
This is not a national story
Every dot below is a shooting incident within a single zip code cluster — the kind of neighborhood where kids know to drop when they hear a bang, and parents watch the clock until their children are home.
"I stopped letting my kids play out front after the third one in six months."
— Darlene, Eastside resident
The turning point
The moment it changed
After her son Marcus was shot at a bus stop three blocks from their home
"I spent two years in the dark. Then I realized I was holding a story that could change something. I walked into my alderman's office with Marcus's photo and I didn't leave until they listened."
Mariela Okonkwo
The moment it changed
The night he treated his neighbor's fourteen-year-old in the trauma bay
"You can only see so many before something in you either shuts down or catches fire. I chose fire. Now I testify at every hearing I can get into. The data I carry in my head is worth more than any policy brief."
Deshawn Reeves
The moment it changed
The week she ran active-shooter drills and had to explain them to second-graders
"A seven-year-old asked me if the bad guy would know to look under the table. That question lives in me every day. I started organizing with other counselors. We brought 200 of us to the capitol last spring."
Angie Tran
Grief into legislation
Each of these passed because someone who lost something showed up, again and again, until the room had no choice but to change.
Expanded ERPO eligibility to include school officials and coworkers, allowing earlier intervention before escalation.
Named for Marcus Okonkwo, 17
His mother testified three times in Springfield
$12.4M in dedicated city budget for street-level violence interrupters in the five highest-incident zip codes.
Championed by Eastside ER staff coalition
Led by nurses and trauma surgeons who organized after the 2021 surge
Required locked storage for all firearms in homes with minors, with subsidized lock distribution through public libraries.
Co-written with Houston school counselors
200 educators testified in Austin
Mandated trauma counseling resources and eliminated active-shooter drills for children under age 10 in favor of age-appropriate safety education.
Angie Tran and 12 counselors drafted the language
Passed in 4 states so far
14
Laws passed
9
States reached
620K+
People protected
8 yrs
Of showing up
You are already part of this
Enter your zip code and we'll connect you with the Vigil chapter in your area — the people who know your streets and are already changing them.
Memorial
If you're here because you lost someone, you can add their name to our memorial. It will be read aloud at our next vigil.
