CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Charlotte has seen 109 homicides in 2022, as of December 29, according to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. That’s 12 more than this time last year.
With only a couple of days left in the year, families who are left grieving are trying to prevent more violence in the upcoming new year.
Sevhn Robinson lost her 25-year-old son Kyyri Doggette in 2017 to a shooting on Independence Boulevard.
He was shot inside his car and pronounced dead on the scene.
Two years after he died, she organized the Mega Mommy March in hopes that others don’t have to feel her pain.
"You know, what we go through for Christmas is unbearable," Robinson said. "And not even just Christmas, every day, your life is never the same. It's never the same."
The march, on January 7, starts at Marshall Park and ends at Romare Bearden Park.
There will be speakers, youth outreach teams, and mental health resources for those who need them.
Robinson founded MM2K, Inc which provides services to mothers and families who lost their children to gun violence.
Robinson speaks to groups throughout the year about the impact gun violence has had on her family. She brings her son's ashes alongside her in an urn.
"I take him everywhere with me because vision is everything," Robinson said. "This is how it’s going to be. This is how I talk to my son, this is how I communicate with him."
For the 2023 Mega Mommy March, Robinson wants to see more families.
“We need families. Bring families with children, and the younger they are the better. Because a lot of times people think that the younger kids, they don't really understand. They understand more than you think they do," she said.
Her husband, Charles Robinson helps families who have lost their children to gun violence.
“Our young kids should not know somebody every year that's losing their life in their school or they played on a sports team with. This has to change," Robinson said.
The march will also focus on how domestic violence intersects with gun violence.
Sevhn Robinson says she suffered domestic violence prior to her current marriage.
"We never talked about, you know, how many we've lost from domestic violence," she said. "And so I just wanted to include that because I feel like it's important. Like I said, I'm a survivor of it and you go through a lot of things and there's a lot of trauma as well with domestic violence."
Robinson says she doesn’t want the heartbreak of loss for anyone.
“This is my real life sentence and I haven't even committed a crime. And if laws don't change, and if people don't put down guns, we can expect a lot more moms to be sitting looking like me," she said.
After the march, the Robinsons plan to go to Raleigh before the legislative session starts to talk about the impact of gun violence.
Contact Shamarria Morrison at smorrison@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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