Pat Munson and son, Dwayne

On May 13, the Los Angeles Sentinel ran an open letter written by Ms. Pat Hendricks Munson , whose son Dwayne was shot to death on May 1st - an unnecessary victim of ongoing violence within his community. Ms. Munson’s open letter pleads us, and our leaders, to stand up against the preventable conditions that promote violence:

It has become all too common in our society, our community for mothers and fathers to bury their children, way too many times due to violence. Violence, I feel, brought on…poverty, lack of opportunity and an extreme sense of hopelessness that would allow our young people to abandon all sense of humanity…I beg of mothers, fathers, teachers, preachers and all community leaders and politicians to do something. We have got to find a way to get through to our young people to disarm themselves and stop this killing.

Unfortunately, Ms. Munson’s tragedy is not uncommon, and affects many families throughout the country. This is why we are encouraging citizens to stand up and demand our politicians support the Youth PROMISE Act , so communities facing the greatest youth gang and crime challenges will implement effective strategies to reduce the threat of violence in our communities.

You can take a stand against violence by signing our Mother’s Day Peacebuildling petition and telling our elected officials to co-sponsor and push the Youth PROMISE Act. Call and lobby your representatives and ask them to support the bill – lobbying materials and directions can be found here.

Whether you plan to visit your elected officials or not, you can make a difference -- and support those who are making office visits -- by signing the petition. Stand with Ms. Munson and help prevent unnecessary violence now!