Editor’s note: This story contains mentions of gun violence, domestic violence and suicide.
On a cloudy Saturday morning at Squirrel Ridge Park, Gainesville residents gathered in the Memorial Garden to honor victims of gun violence. The vigil provided a moment of collective reflection, community support and a tribute to survivors and their affected families.
The vigil, organized by Alachua County Community Support Services and Gainesville Fire Rescue, marked the beginning of Gun Violence Awareness Month. It was the first event of its kind hosted at the Memorial Garden, which was dedicated to victims and survivors affected by crime in 1996 by the Alachua County Commission.
Nearly 47,000 people die from gun-related injuries each year in the United States. In 2023, this included about 17,927 homicides and 27,300 suicides, according to the Pew Research Center's analysis of CDC data.
Cassandra Moore is the project coordinator at the Alachua County Victim Services and Rape Crisis Center. She said the event was meant to offer survivors and families “a space to honor their loved ones and also to instill hope… have that moment of reflection.”
One of the most meaningful parts of the event was giving people the chance to leave a personal message in the garden, she said.
“Anyone who comes here has the opportunity to write a message of hope,” Moore said. “They can write their loved one's names on it, they can write their names on it — whatever would inspire hope — and give folks that sense of strength.”
Brittany Coleman, the city’s Gun Violence Intervention Program Manager, said the event helped bring renewed attention to a space that had long gone unused. The garden had not hosted an event in more than a decade, she said.
Coleman oversees Impact GNV, a city initiative focused on gun violence prevention and public education around firearm safety.
“We get to think about prevention,” Coleman said. “We get to think about intervention.”
Her team includes case managers and “violence interrupters” who respond to conflicts before they escalate, she said. They involve themselves in the community to build relationships with residents.
“They are people who are deeply rooted in Gainesville to try to mitigate those conflicts before they erupt into violence,” she said.
Amanda Goldsmith, a 42-year-old survivor of gun violence, said having community spaces like the garden is vital.
“Being in nature, growing plants, spending time really connecting, that's one of the things that has healed me to a depth I cannot put into words,” Goldsmith said.
Goldsmith shared that she’s been impacted by gun violence three times, the trauma of which has stayed with her for years.
“Once, when I was 4, I witnessed gun violence during a domestic violence incident. Then, when I was 17, I was shot,” she said. “The bullet hit my spine and went through my stomach, and I lost my left kidney, half my intestines and descending colon and had to learn how to walk again because the bullet took a chunk out of one of my vertebrae.”
She also lost a loved one to suicide when her partner’s brother took his own life using a gun two weeks before his 18th birthday.
She described a long recovery process that extended far beyond the hospital.
“Twenty-five years now of needing support and services for physical aches and pains, but also the emotional and spiritual trauma that such violence on a person can create,” Goldsmith said.
Robin Lillie, a 54-year-old Survivor Support Lead for the local chapter of Moms Demand Action, attended in memory of her son, Tyler Pearson, who was murdered in a domestic violence incident in 2019.
“My son was 29 years old,” Lillie said. “His name was Tyler. It wasn’t gang or drug-related. It was domestic.”
She said the park itself makes her feel connected to her son.
“The park’s name was my son's nickname, Squirrel,” she said. “So Squirrel Ridge Park for me now is a safe place, a comfort place.”
In her role, Lillie connects parents who have lost children or survived gun violence to support groups. She helps them access resources through the Everytown Survivor Network, a national organization that supports survivors of gun violence and offers tools and resources to aid in the healing process.
She said it’s important for people to give themselves space to heal.
“Take time for yourself,” she said. “Self-care is number one.”
Law enforcement was also present at the vigil.
Ed Book, the chief of the Santa Fe College Police Department and an officer with the Gainesville Police Department, said law enforcement’s most important job is preventing gun violence.
“We always talk about arrest and education and intervention, but ultimately, prevention is our most important vision,” Book said.
Local agencies are united in that goal, he said.
To conclude the event, Charles Chestnut, the chair of the Alachua County Commission, addressed the crowd with a message reflecting attendees’ sentiments.
“Gun violence is not just a public safety issue; it is a health crisis,” Chestnut said. “It tears apart families. It leaves survivors not only with physical wounds but with emotional scars. It creates silence where there should be support. And yet even in the depths of loss and pain, there is resilience.”
Contact Candy Fontana Verde at cfontanaverde@alligator.org. Follow her on X @CandyFontanaV.
