Walk of Unity: Promoting Nonviolence

Hundreds of Hoosiers gathered for the Stand On Peace Walk in Indianapolis to raise awareness for National Youth Violence Prevention Week, despite the rain.

The event aimed at promoting unity and nonviolence, with Deputy Director of Violence Reduction for the Office of Public Health and Safety Tony Lopez emphasizing the importance of resolving conflicts peacefully. "We're gonna have our arguments. We're gonna have our fights but to resolve those in a peaceful manner, conflict resolution, talking about it vs fighting or shooting each other, is important because we wanna keep our community whole," Lopez said.

For Holden Pasley, 17, and president of his high school's Students Demand Action Club, gun violence is top of mind. "I'm always having a tiny bit of fear no matter what is going on. In the event that when I go to school, there's a slight chance that I might not be able to come home," Pasley said.

Senior Gift Akintomide shares Pasley's concerns. "We see the problem and we just don't deal with it. Having youth know and understand that it's something that they could face and people have faced it in the Indianapolis community that are our age," Akintomide said.

IMPD North District Commander Matthew Thomas also spoke about these tragedies, stating that "We're continuing to make progress but youth violence remains a top concern. We know we can do better." He encouraged parents to turn to community partners like Indy Peace through the Office of Public Health and Safety for resources such as mentoring programs.