{"id":9748,"date":"2023-09-27T20:47:54","date_gmt":"2023-09-27T20:47:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/?p=9748"},"modified":"2023-09-27T20:47:54","modified_gmt":"2023-09-27T20:47:54","slug":"northwest-ohio-parents-of-murdered-children-host-day-of-remembrance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.thetruthtoledo.com\/index.php\/2023\/09\/27\/northwest-ohio-parents-of-murdered-children-host-day-of-remembrance\/","title":{"rendered":"Northwest Ohio Parents of Murdered Children Host Day of Remembrance"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Northwest Ohio Parents of Murdered Children Co-leader Marquita Ford, Chapter Leader Aviance Hill, Board Secretary Taren Lutchey<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By Fletcher Word<\/strong><\/em>
\nThe Truth Editor<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

On Saturday, September 23, the Northwest Ohio Parents of Murdered Children gathered at the Toledo Spain Plaza at the corner of Collingwood Avenue and 23rd<\/sup> Street to observe a day of remembrance for their lost ones and to share those recollections with each other and the community at large.<\/p>\n

Aviance Hill, the organizer of the event and the mother of Isaac Carpenter who was murdered just over one year ago, resurrected the Northwest Ohio Parents of Murdered Children chapter in February of this year.<\/p>\n

Wendy and Leslie Robinson, parents of Dionious Robinson who was murdered in 2005 when he was just 20 years old, were among the parents there who shared their grief over their child\u2019s murder and their disgruntlement with the way the justice system handled the crime. The murderer was sentenced to nine years incarceration.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a good kid and it was totally meaningless,\u201d said Wendy Robinson. \u201cNine years for taking a life \u2013 it is ridiculous. We need to all get involved and voice our opinions.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Aviance Hill<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Saturday\u2019s event was held at the Toledo Spain Plaza which will be undergoing some major changes in the next few years and will also be named the \u201cPeace & Healing Commons.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peace & Healing is a non-profit organization that was founded in 2021 in order to \u201caddress gun violence and the deaths of these kids,\u201d said co-founder Thomas Douglas. The organization has a 30-year lease with the City of Toledo for the Toledo Spain Plaza and plans to invest about $2.5 million in converting the plaza into a space dedicated to its mission of addressing the gun violence issue. Such public gatherings are part of the planned mission.<\/p>\n

Peace & Healing will be raising the funds through grants and donations. The group\u2019s board consists of local prominent people such as former mayors Donna Owens and Mike Bell. The group began its mission by bringing together local gang leaders as part of the process to develop a plan to create a space that will be an \u201cevolving environment for our at-risk and disadvantaged youth, a permanent location where victims of gang violence can go to find solace and hope, a gathering place for all citizens of Toledo, a common ground landmark that helps establish Toledo as a community of Peach and Healing and a place that further reinforces Toledo\u2019s appreciation for the arts,\u201d notes the group\u2019s literature.<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s event was the first such connection between the plaza and the area parents suffering from such losses.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Joshua Carpenter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cUntil you have lost a child yourself, you don\u2019t know how much it hurts,\u201d said Bonnie Breitigam as she spoke of her son who was killed seven years ago, at the age of 29, when he went to a Waffle House to bring home food for his family. He was a father of three.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was good to people,\u201d said Breitigam. \u201cAlways would give. He was shot in the left temple.\u201d<\/p>\n

Breitigam emphasized the devastation that such crimes of violence cause to those left behind.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe damage to the family \u2026 the fear and loss of trust,\u201d she said. \u201cWe didn\u2019t want pity but we wanted something.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Bobbie Breitigam<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Breitigam has joined the Northwest Ohio Parents of Murdered Children and takes solace in sharing her grief with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the help of this group, I\u2019ve gotten through some days; but it\u2019s a club you don\u2019t want to ever have to join.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shonda Striker lost her son, Demario Striker, when he was 23 years old, to a 15-year old gun-toting assailant who would eventually be arrested at the age of 21 and sentenced to 18 years to life in prison.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like for him to be accountable for everything he put us through,\u201d said Striker who was unhappy that she was not able to address the court or the murderer at sentencing. \u201cI didn\u2019t get a chance to say what I wanted to say.\u201d<\/p>\n

Also speaking at Saturday\u2019s event were Joshua and Miara Carpenter, the brother and sister of Isaac Carpenter, Aviance Hill\u2019s son.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Miara Carpenter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Isaac Carpenter was killed by Miara\u2019s boyfriend, the father of her child, when he tried to step in and protect his sister during a domestic dispute. The blame, the guilt, the recrimination has traumatized the family over the past 15 months since the incident.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsaac was the best of us,\u201d said Joshua. \u201cIt happened to him but it also happened to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy brother was murdered protecting me from my son\u2019s father,\u201d said Miara Carpenter. \u201cA person I cared about killed the person I loved in front of five people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Northwest Ohio Parents of Murdered Children will be holding such events on a regular basis in the future, particularly in the Toledo Spain Plaza\/Peace & Healing Commons. This past Monday, September 25, was a National Day of Mourning organized by the national organization, Parents of Murdered Children. The national organization was founded in 1978 with the concept of honoring the memory of victims killed by violence and in order to acknowledge the resulting long-term trauma for families, communities and the nation.<\/p>\n

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