Violence prevention group hopes to ‘heal’ Charlotte through change

CHARLOTTE — Heal Charlotte is hosting a series of workshops this week.

“Conflicts are becoming bigger than minor conflicts,” said Greg Jackson, the founder of the violence prevention group. “They become major. They become homicides.”

Jackson said workshop leaders are sharing information and resources to spark change.

They hope everyone who attends can be a voice in their neighborhood.

“We want to get the young people,” Jackson said. “They are the future. They are the ones who are going to make everything happen. They are in charge of revolutionary acts moving forward.”

Jacqueline Lewis is grieving the loss of her son and grandson.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police say both men died because of gun violence.

She wants the violence to stop.

“It used to be where it happened to just one location, which they thought was a Beatties Ford Road and then it started to spread everywhere,” Lewis said.

Lewis hopes keeping the conversation alive will protect more families from grief.

“It’s not going to take one organization or two organizations,” Lewis said. “It’s going to take a village. Hopefully, we can work on that we can all come together.”

Stop the Violence community workshop series: June 29 & 30 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Urban League, 740 W 5th St.

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