Waterbury residents took to the streets Saturday, demanding to put a stop to recent violence in the city's north end.
They shouted, "Stop the violence, start the love."
Their message was loud and clear. There needs to be an end to violence in Waterbury.
“Our goal is to keep our neighborhood safe and keep our children safe,” said Erika Cooper, the march organizer.
Dozens of men, women and children marched through the --- an area riddled with a high number of abandoned homes and struggling with crime. They tell us—this is how they take it back.
The police chief, members of the NAACP and school leaders joined in the rally, called Stop the Violence and Save a Life.
People came from as far as Bridgeport to march. Including members of a group called, Y.A.N.A, mothers who lost children to violence.
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“I lost my son 25 years ago to gun violence and i found these ladies and they’ve been such a help to me,” said Charlene Gray from Bridgeport.
“It’s just not happening in our community, it’s happening in every community,” said Y.A.N.A member, Nicole Matthews.
“We’re all a community, we all live here, were all neighbors. So if it happens to one person, it happens to us all,” said Ayesha Abdul-Lateif from Waterbury.
