Shaquna Persley knows the tragedy of losing a child to violence.
"My baby probably would have been running something the way she was," Persley said talking about her 13-year-old daughter Shavon Randle who was kidnapped, murdered, and her body dumped in an abandoned house in 2017.
She's now left with only memories and daily pain.
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"It's a feeling,” Persley said. “You feel empty. You're breathing. You know you're breathing but you just feel like you're not breathing."
That's why she stood with other parents who've lost children to violence saying enough is enough.
"How can we create and make our world better if we are killing off, especially the kids,” Persley questioned. “We are killing off the kids. These are our future lawyers and doctors."
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Urban Specialist is a nonprofit group that works to eliminate violence in the urban culture. They want the community to stand up against the violence.
"We have to speak up,” Urban Specialist president Antong Lucky said. “No longer can our communities be hostage by fear by these individuals because it's not everybody. It's certain individuals who are in our community who are committing the most violence."
Violence that is causing pain to victims as young as 4-years-old. Roneisha Conway explains the hardship on her daughter who was recently shot and is in a wheelchair recovering.
"She traumatized and she is having like nightmares," Conway said.
"We can't wait on nobody else to come save our neighborhood,” Lucky said. “We've got to save our neighborhood. But I want the rest of Dallas to know that this is important for you. If you live north of Dallas this is important to you because if my community isn't safe your community is not safe."
To learn more about the work Urban Specialist doing to fight violence click here.
