CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A bullet takes a split second to fire, but its effects can last a lifetime.
"My brother and his friend were shot," said Jakayla Curry.
Jakayla says her brother's death still weighs heavily on her mind.
Kaleb Hagins died in a shooting in 2022. It was a tragedy Jakayla said she would never forget.
"It was traumatizing it was devastating," Curry said.
Jakayla said everyone involved in her brother's death, both the shooters and victims, were all under the age of 21.
"They were all babies everyone involved were babies," Curry said.
She said after accepting the reality that she would never see her baby brother again, it was time to face the next heart-wrenching truth, how to plan his funeral.
"At that moment I already couldn’t catch my breath, then facing the fact figuring out where we would get the money to bury him was another big stressor," Curry said.
It's an issue Deborah Wadesworth said continues to grow as more teens are killed.
Wadesworth has worked with the bereavement ministry at Lady of Consolation Church for 35 years. She said the uptick in the number of kids dying is alarming.
"It's happening so frequently its be the norm, we had to step in with some just helping with funerals," Wadesworth said.
We spoke with funeral homes like King's Funeral Home, Alexander Funeral Home, and A.E. Grier Sons and Funeral Cremation who say they’ve noticed an uptick in the number of teens coming in.
"A lot of young parents don’t have adequate insurance or no insurance," Grier said. "It does put a burden on these families when we do come in contact."
Grier said over the years he has seen a 30 to 45% increase in the number of teens coming in.
As the impact continues to weigh heavily on the community, Grier said they’ve also seen an increase in cremations due to financial restrictions.
He said there is a big need to further educate families on life insurance and final expenses.
"It's not something that’s thought about in our community especially," Curry said.
Curry said it's an issue she’s working to change by opening a non-profit called Krosswinds in her brother’s legacy.
She knows what it's like to not have enough funds to close the casket on someone you love.
"We would love to help with headstones, and eventually we want to help with funeral costs in general," Curry said.