PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Join a march Saturday to address violence in Hampton Roads.

“The march is titled ‘Better Is Now: Violence in the Village.’ Better is Now deals with the existential reality that you don’t have to wait until outcomes are favorable,” said Reverend Dr. Melvin Marriner of Grove Church in Portsmouth. “You don’t have to wait until you get a new job [or] a new home to think differently.”

As Marriner nears his 35th year as a church leader he explained that “this march is not about just gun violence and violence in other areas. It’s about the Black community, the Black village saying that we own the good and the bad in our community and we are speaking toward it. Better is Now: Violence in the Village is recognizing that we are like any other community. We have things going on that that are great. Yet this small segment in our community, they’re causing devastation. They’re causing grief. They are taking premature lives and potentials to a grave that I know we need for our future.”

The hope is to address three issues: Black consciousness, Black pride and Black accountability.

“You don’t have to wait to think differently,” Marriner said. “Your environment doesn’t have to dictate how you think. You are in charge of that. Parents are in charge of that. This is about community, grassroots people, saying this is enough. Let’s bring some civility. Let’s stop dehumanizing one another and start to heal.”

Nearly 95,000 people make up the Portsmouth population, according to the 2024 Demographics Statistic Profile.

“I want 95,000 people to have ownership in the lives and the hearts of those who are broken,” Marriner said. “I want everyone out there.”

“It’s not my next-door neighbor’s children, it’s our children,” Marriner said. “It’s our nieces and nephews. Our sons, our daughters, our cousins. … It’s not about a political decision that should be made about the Saturday. It’s not about legislation. We need gun reform. We need judicial reform. We need police reform. But we also need [to be] conscientious about, how do I live, how to raise my sons and daughters.”

Community leaders, including the Hon. Johnny Morrison, chief judge for the city of Portsmouth, Darrell Redmond of Give Back 2 Da Block and Portsmouth Police Chief Stephen Jenkins plan to be at the march.

“Those who commit crimes are in some level of trauma,” Marriner said. “It’s not about us attacking them. It’s about letting them know that we love you enough to let you know how it feels to be strong, that you have a future regardless of your past life. You have a future.”

The march hopes to unite the community, then offer up to $5,000 in rental, grocery, laundry and gas assistance.

“You have to survive before you start to thrive,” Marriner said. “Let’s teach them survival techniques. So, when they can get to a point, … they know it’s time for me to open my eagle wings and fly — fly beyond my environment, fly beyond my doubts, inadequacy, insecurities.”