NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A round table for mothers of victims who lost their lives to gun violence is set to be held in Norfolk on Dec. 18.
Norfolk City Councilman John ‘J.P.’ Paige organized “A Warm Embrace”, an opportunity for mothers to come together and share the stories of their loved ones to keep the voices of the victims of gun violence alive.
“It is my prayer that things like this open up space for healing. We have to consider the things that we’re dealing with in our society today [and] the impact that they have on us. If we don’t begin addressing it from a healing standpoint, we [are] just having conversations. Hurt people, hurt people. So, we must address the hurt. We must start with ourselves, and my belief is, if we open up the room for mothers to begin to heal. That’s opening up the room for our communities to begin to heal,” said Paige.
Samantha Peavy lost her daughter Amanda Skie Gallon in 2009.
“She always wanted people to be beautiful and to excel. She had a very warm smile. It was very embracing. I lost her to gun violence,” said Peavy. “There was a young man that opened fire on a car that she was in on Valentine’s Day. She was the only one that didn’t make it, and he paralyzed the driver.”
Gallon was an aspiring nurse and hairstylist, her life cut short at just 18-years-old. Peavy created a scholarship with the Norfolk Women’s Club in her honor.
“This year we’re able to do two student fellowships, one we did at Sentara, and the other one we’re doing in the spring for Virginia Wesleyan University. We’re excited about that!”
She adds, “Her legacy lives on to help somebody else with another chapter of their life.”
The round table is set to take place at 6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 18 at the Basilica of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Norfolk.
The event is one week from Christmas, as the holidays can be especially hard for grieving moms.
“They’re bittersweet. Sometimes I open a gift and I cry really hard, ” said Peavy. “Every year it’s a little bit different for me, but it still brings that journey of healing because you’re always healing.”
Paige hopes the moms will be comforted by the ‘warm embrace.’
“The violence is across the board. Some of the children that [we] have lost come from two parent homes, wealthy or wealthy to others. All of our children are at risk. Mothers that lose a child oftentimes have other children. The siblings are sometimes put in a space where they feel like they need to retaliate. We bring these mothers together in a healing space. Eventually, we think the message the mothers get when they heal can be transferred to their other children. We can then transfer healing to our entire community and begin to do the work that needs to take place. We begin here. Let’s take care of moms first,” said Paige.
Mothers are asked to bring a picture of their loved ones to show they are not forgotten.