Hello, my name is Jazyire Sims, and I would like to share my story about surviving gun violence. I was shot in my stomach at the age of five, while I was playing outside with my younger brother. I remember bleeding everywhere, holding something that belonged in my stomach, and it was just honestly the worst thing I ever experienced.
My mom lost custody of all her kids when I got shot, and I blamed myself for her going to jail and my siblings and me being separated. For a while, I wished I died when I got shot — until I understood that none of it was my fault. I was a child at the time, and it was my parents’ responsibility to protect me.