Community outreach service members came together to hear from all ages who say they want safer streets and more resources to fight against violence in Buffalo.
22-year-old Mikail Walton was among dozens of people who came to the Merriweather Library on Jefferson Avenue Wednesday night to talk about their close encounters with violence in the streets of buffalo.
“It messes with your mind mentally it’s just like you don’t think it’s real at first until you go a couple of days, a couple of weeks calling that person and they don’t answer,” he says. “I saw my cousin die at nine-years-old. I had a lot of friends that died to violence, and I feel like it’s the matter of us just loving each other. “
22-year-old Dequan Newton is in college studying to be an auto mechanic while 22-year-old Thomas James is in school for audio and production.
They were both raised on the East Side of Buffalo, and both say they knew they were destined to shine a light on the world.
“I’ve seen a lot of things in my life. I understand where you can be and I know where I can go,” Newton says. “So it’s all about understanding that your surroundings don’t affect or guide you to who you are. you have to be a bigger and better person.”