North Texans who have lost loved ones to violence gathered together for healing vigil
FORT WORTH, Texas - A small group of people gathered in Fort Worth Saturday while holding on to something painful, something that runs deep.
They shouted together while forming a circle. Their shouting was not a celebration, rather an effort to release heavy trauma.
"And today we’re out here to heal each other, just talk to each other," Melinda Hamilton said.
Hamilton said she has something unfortunate in common with the others gathered at Living Waters Park.
They’ve lost loved ones to violence.
"I am a survivor. I am a survivor," Hamilton added.
In 2017, her daughter, Shameka Rodriguez, was shot and killed in Fort Worth’s Morningside neighborhood.
"You don’t want to ever experience that," Dererica Johnson said.
In 2020, Johnson’s 19-year-old brother, Derrick Johnson, was shot and killed in Grand Prairie.
"It could’ve been avoided," she said. "Put the guns down."
It’s National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. Vigils are happening in dozens of cities across the country.
"One split second can change your whole life," Hamilton said.
Hamilton, who organized Saturday’s get-together, started the non-profit Mothers of Murdered Angels in 2020.
They provide emotional and sometimes financial assistance to families of local murder victims.
"We have over 87 families that we have helped," she said.
The pain of losing a loved one cannot be measured, but through all that pain, some find comfort knowing they are not alone.
"And this is why we have this circle, to show that we are all in it together," one person said.
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Aside from comforting each other, their hope is for their words to somehow lead someone to make better choices.
"Put the guns down," Hamilton said. "Just try to walk away. If you can’t walk away, fight with your hands. We used to fight one day with our hands, and a couple days later, we’re back friends. It’s not worth it."