Featured in Spectrum News - Mom hopes Newburgh group steers kids away from gun violence

Feature in Spectrum News:

A Newburgh mother who lost her child to gun violence is giving back to the community by starting a non-profit to help children and families going through similar circumstances find the resources they need.

Jemika Hall, the founder of Marc Friends, started the support group in September of last year after she lost her son to gun violence in 2018.

“This program is for families that had lost a child, so violence or tragedy, and children that are at risk within a community of Newburgh and actually the whole Hudson Valley service. We serve kids from 11 and up,” said Hall.

Hall believes reaching out to pre-adolescent kids will help them navigate life before their teenage years.

“My goal is to get the children while they're pretty young like 10 to 11 years old and cultivate them. So by the time they become 16 and 17, they have in their mind what they want to do, where they're heading in life and all that,” said Hall.

With recent shootings causing concern in the community, Hall says her focus is to prevent other families from going through what she went through.

“I don't know fully why all the kids are having a problem with the feel like they need to result to guns. But I would love to like be a person that they feel like they can come to and feel like we can help them advocate for whatever it is that they really want to do,” said Hall.

Hall’s goal is to provide a safe space for kids to decompress with the traumas they faced.

“I wanted to create a space for the kids that are socially awkward, off, don't want to do this or that just kind of don't know what they want to do, and need like the encouragement and support around them,” said Hall.

Hall hopes with the help of community partners she can spread the word about Marc Friends while also honoring her son’s memory.