The Jackson City Council read and adopted a proclamation recognizing June 6, 2025, as National Gun Violence Awareness Day and highlighted local community partners the city has worked with on violence intervention efforts.

Kwesi Omari, Office of Violence Prevention Trauma Recovery community outreach specialist, introduced representatives from Strong Arms of Mississippi, Living With Purpose, and Operation Good and thanked them for their work. “We just wanted to show them some appreciation and let them know that we see them, and we’re gonna continue this work moving forward,” Omari said.

Benny Ivey, co-founder and co-director of Strong Arms of Mississippi, described outreach and the organization’s community centers in South Jackson and Pearl and urged continued city support for programs that connect young men to work and life skills. Credible messenger John Knight also described street outreach and services the groups provide to youth, including food, clothing and transportation assistance.

Council members and the mayor’s office noted those groups were regranted city-managed funds distributed through a National League of Cities grant and thanked them publicly. Sharon Brown was introduced as the new director of the Office of Violence Prevention and Trauma Recovery; council members said the office will continue coordinating with community partners.

In the proclamation read aloud, the council cited national and state gun-violence statistics and urged residents to participate by wearing orange on the first Friday in June.

Council members emphasized local partnerships between law enforcement, community groups and city government as key to preventing gun violence, and they pledged continued support for violence-intervention programming.