INDIANAPOLIS — At the Amber Woods Apartments on the far east side, tents are up and flyers are being handed out for another youth anti-gun violence event.
"We shouldn't have youth dying to gun violence," State Sen. La Keisha Jackson (D-District 34) said.
But this time, city and state leaders hope to answer the question: "What can we do as a community, as a family and as a village to change that?"
Their answer, walking and talking with these neighbors. For the third year, Jackson and the Indy Public Safety Foundation will host the event. They say this year's event is more important than ever.
"We've seen an increase in not only youth homicides but the non-fatal as well," Danyette Smith with Indy Champions said. "We just want to make sure we are present in the community with resources for them."
This year, the public safety foundation has tracked four homicides and 49 nonfatal shootings involving youth.
Both Jackson and the foundation say there will be multiple resources for families at the event, but the biggest resource they can provide is a listening ear to the kids in the neighborhood where gun violence impacts their lives every day.
"We are positioning ourselves so we can engage with the youth so we can show them there is more to life than violence," Shawnique Johnson said.
Organizers say they know this event won't solve the problem overnight, but hope it'll soon bring change.
The event will start at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 24 near the Boys & Girls Club off of 38th Street and Post Road.
The group will then walk over to the Amber Woods Apartments for the rest of the event.