PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Frustrated with the gun violence in Philadelphia, one community group is planning to camp out for three nights to bring awareness and support to those who lost loved ones to violence.
Advocacy group Operation Save Our City helps families to navigate the system after losing someone to violence.
Rosalind Pichardo, who founded the group, said her mission was born out of an abundance of pain.
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“I lost my boyfriend Tolver Jackson in 1994 to homicide by an ex-boyfriend. I survived an attempted homicide by that same person," said Pichardo.
"I lost my identical twin sister to a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and in 2012, I lost my brother to murder.”
Camp Out For Peace runs from Friday evening until Sunday at the Ruth Street Community Gardens near Clearfield Street in Kensington.
“People drop off images of their loved ones," Pichardo explained.
"We help to just remember our loved ones and say that they are not forgotten.”
If someone in the area has a warrant for their arrest for homicide, she displays their information as well.
"It’s gotten me into some trouble with threats from the family of the person who is wanted," Pichardo admits.
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"However, the need is so great because we don’t have that many detectives.”
This is the 10th year of the event, and Pichardo said it brings comfort to many families.
"I do it to really bring awareness and to connect families, especially if their cases are unsolved. I use that time to call detectives and get updates on the families' cases, and ask what we can do to be supportive of the detectives solving our loved ones' cases," said Pichardo.
“I represent hundreds and hundreds of families who have lost their loved ones to homicide, and keeping their memory alive is important to those families.”
