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Families of gun victims share grief
Friday, December 22, 2000 By Joel Rosenblatt, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
For Latasha Lawson, 21, Christmas is a bittersweet holiday. Like most families, Lawson joins her relatives to share in the holiday spirit. But one important person -- her boyfriend -- is missing.
That's because her boyfriend, Javon Thompson, an 18-year-old student at CMU, was shot dead in late 1994, leaving her alone to raise the couple's now 5-year-old daughter, Tajaya Thompson.
For Tajaya, living without her father is one thing. But "telling her somebody shot daddy," said a tearful Lawson, "that's hard to explain."
Last night, for kids like Tajaya, the bitterness of having lost a parent to gun violence was softened a bit by a gathering at the Pentecostal Temple in East Liberty. More than 80 children, all of whom have just one or no parents at all, came to the church with their families to receive donated gifts. The evening was sponsored by the "Tree of Hope," a consortium of law enforcement agencies, churches and the families of victims of gun violence.
Adrienne Young is the founder of "Tree of Hope" and the mother of Javon Thompson. Young said she was inspired to start the first Tree of Hope Celebration after she called Angel Tree, an organization that helps families of prisoners. When she asked what the organization could do for children of the victims of gun violence, she was turned away.
Frustrated that perpetrators of crimes got help when the victims of their violence didn't, Young called police Cmdr. Gwen Elliott of Zone 3, who called on Sgt. Jim Retsch. Retsch called the U.S. Marine Corps and Toys for Tots, who donated toys to the cause.
But families of victims kept calling, Young said, and soon Tree of Hope had more kids than toys for the evening. She called Dan Wholey of Wholey Seafood Inc., who donated another $1,000 to ensure the "party was a success," said Wholey.
The event started with music and singing from the church choir and was followed by speakers, including Pastor James McLemore of Bethel AME Church, and the Pentecostal Temple's own pastor, Dr. Loran Mann.
"Even though your lives have been touched by violence, you cannot live a violent life," Mann told the children. "I want to encourage you to live your life not only for those who are with you, but also for those who have departed."
It wasn't immediately clear that 4-year-old Jacque Butler understood everything Mann had to say. William Matthews, 66, and his wife Minnie, 70, gained custody of Jacque and his sister Dominique, 13, after their daughter, the mother of the children, was shot by her boyfriend, who then took his own life. Matthews spoke haltingly of the incident, but said the message of the Tree of Hope celebration got through, even to young Jacque.
"I imagine that they get a sense of obedience" from the event and the church, "and a sense of love and joy. I just let them go from there."
Darian Fisher, 6, reinforced Matthews' impression. Darian's father, Jammea Fisher, 24, was gunned down in March of last year.
Darian's grandmother, Linda Brown, said he remembers his father and asks for him every day. The evening served to remind him to "stay here on this Earth," Brown said. She recited a mantra, "Peace in the Streets," which Darian echoed.
With candy in his mouth and a bag of donated toys in tow, he was asked what he learned from the evening.
"That God is good," the 6-year-old said. "Because he helps us with stuff."
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