My life totally changed on February 1, 1999. My only child Teshawn was stolen from me by gun violence. Nothing in life meant anything or mattered to me. For quite a while I felt totally helpless. My granddaughters did not have a father, and I no longer had my only child.
Today I still feel the empty space in my body, mind and soul. I have a deep-rooted urge to help my peers who have suffered this loss and to prevent it from happening to other families. This tragic loss has given me a purpose for my pain and a reason to keep going in the fight to end gun violence.