LANSING, Mich. — The gun violence in Lansing is concerning to most, but for people like Michael McKissic, who lost his son to gun violence in Lansing, it's too close to home.
"Michael was murdered Aug. 1 of 2015, and his case is still unsolved," McKissic said.
Eight years after the loss of his son, McKissic has dedicated his life to preventing violence here in mid-Michigan.
"We're at the beginning where kids won't even pick up a gun, won't get caught in gun violence, and that's what Mikey 23 is about, so you ask has there been a change in the past year, yes, there has been a change with the young people we mentor," McKissic explained.
The Mikey 23 Foundation mentors young people across mid-Michigan like Brooklyn, who was ready to turn her life around.
"In my old ways, I used to be around a lot of gun violence, but as I grew older, I was losing too many people, too many friends, and I said I don't want to be around this anymore," Brooklyn recalled.
And McKissic wants to encourage more community members to do the same.
"We need more organizations to unite, which some of them already have, and come together, and make Lansing a safer place," he said.
McKissic is looking to the community to mentor youth as two of last weekend's gun violence incidents involved people between the ages of 16-26, and he says that it starts with the community to guide youth in Lansing.
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