INDIANAPOLIS — At the halfway point through June and Gun Violence Awareness Month, Shardae Hoskins and everyone with Indy Peace Fellowship are hard at work every day out in the community.
They're setting up events, resources and engaging with neighbors around town constantly as they work to reduce gun violence in Indianapolis by spreading peace.
Hoskins said it's work that's needed.
"Last weekend was definitely a violent weekend in our city," Hoskins said. "We were out at Love Fest in Washington, which data tells us that corridor of our city is one of the most dangerous and deadly spots in our city, so we were glad to be there in their weekend of no violence. But still...violence all around."
Alongside the I Choose Peace campaign, which the Indy Peace Fellowship launched June 1, city and community leaders are continuing to push for and find new ways to try and curb gun violence.
Wednesday night, the City County Council approved a plan that would raise the minimum age to buy a gun up to 21 years old and ban assault rifles within the city. That plan now moves to the full council.
And Thursday, city leaders revealed new technology that will be debuted at WonderRoad Festival over the weekend, creating a gun-free zone within Garfield Park for the event.
That's adding an additional layer of safety for the estimated 14,000 festival-goers that organizers expect at the park over the weekend. It's part of a new policy that allows private events to request gun-free zones on leased-out public property.
"The way the technology works is people will walk right through it. They don't take their phones out, they don't take their keys out, they don't stop. They move right through it, and if the technology detects a potential threat, the security operator is alerted, there's a picture of the individual and a location where that threat might be, and the security team resolves that threat," said Anil Chitkara, co-founder of Evolv Technology. "It's meant to be very fast and respectful of the visitors going through and very easy for the security operators to use."
"Promoters want to make it an experience that is first and foremost all about fun in a safe environment. With today's partnership, that's exactly what they can expect," Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said.
IMPD Deputy Chief Michael Wolley said this kind of technology can help protect officers and the community.
"It just makes sense. It makes sense to continue using technology as a preventative measure for these kinds of events," Wolley said. "Our goal will always be to keep everyone safe. Technology can sometimes be the pathway to that goal."
Creating a gun-free zone at Garfield Park for WonderRoad is part of a pilot program for utilizing this kind of technology by the city currently, but leaders say they plan to purchase technology so that they can continue to accommodate requests for gun-free events like this moving forward.
Plans to reduce gun violence around Indianapolis have stayed top of mind for many around the community, not just in June but for years now as the city struggles to reduce shootings and criminal homicides around Indianapolis. Hoskins said the push for peace in the community is critical now, and it needs to stay that way throughout the year.
“June is Gun Violence Awareness Month, so that’s when we kicked things off. But really, we’re continuing this month through the rest of the year, remembering that July is the second heaviest month for criminal homicide and October being the highest one historically over the years,” Hoskins said.
And with 85 criminal homicides so far this year, according to data from IMPD, Hoskins said she and those with Indy Peace Fellowship have a long road forward to changing the community for the better. But, she said it's work she's passionate about seeing succeed throughout Indianapolis.
"We have to keep this campaign going, we have to choose peace because really, historically speaking, what could be the worst times are still in front of us," Hoskins said. "We still have July, we still have October to get through, and we only get through those if every single one of us choose peace."
There are still spots available for Indy Peace Fellowship's Summer in the City program for teens. The Indy Peace Fellowship also offers basketball, flag football and dodgeball. For more information about these programs, visit the website here.