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total hearts received for Moments That Survive

Anonymous

When I was around 11, a man my family knew shot himself in the head in front of a family friend and neighbor. My memories of this time are not the best because, as a child, the adults were not concerned with explaining to me or my younger brother what was going on. I picked up information from listening in to the adult conversations. It was very confusing; adults were crying, some were angry, questions were being asked, and it was scary.

I have talked to many children who have had the same type of experience. No matter who it is that gets shot, no matter what the circumstances, I can guarantee there is a child impacted, if not by the loss of a loved one, then by the loss of security.

Later in life I had a good friend commit suicide by gun; I still miss him. It hurts, and you always wonder if there was something you missed because you never saw it coming.

Reacting shows support for gun violence survivors.

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