On November 17, 2003, my life was forever changed. As my three children walked home with their dad, shots rang out in front of our building in East New York, Brooklyn, My eight-year-old son, Daesean Hill, was shot and killed, and my five-year-old son and three-year-old daughter witnessed it. For the last 21 years, our family has been dealing with the trauma of losing Daesean. In 2004, a nonprofit in Brooklyn called Man Up was created in hopes to prevent gun violence. To date, Man Up has helped countless members of the community; Daesean was the reason. In 2023, to commemorate Daesean’s 20th anniversary, I wrote and released a children’s book called Dae-Dae Gains His Wings. In 2024, I started my own nonprofit, Daesean Hill’s Beacon of Hope. I want to honor my son by preventing violence and helping survivors.