DANVILLE — Following a weekend of gun violence resulting in one fatality and several others injured, the Danville community held an emergency meeting on Thursday.
Mary Catherine Roberson, the democratic candidate for State Representative of District 104, shared her thoughts on the event at the Laura Lee Fellowship House.
“We got a chance to hear from a lot of people who’ve been involved in community violence prevention efforts,” Roberson said. “I think we heard a lot of frustration. We heard a lot of fear in the community’s open comments. We definitely heard some anger also, but I think it’s important to have those spaces to be able to share in the aftermath of such painful events in our community.”
Roberson said she thinks it is important to make space for people to talk about what happened following gun violence events.
She said there were also organizations there to help people through mental health resources like Crosspoint Human Services. There was also information about the prevention programming and the violence prevention programs, like ‘after-hours programming ‘ with Project Success. There is also hardship funding available for those impacted by gun violence.
Roberson has experience working with communities enacting gun violence prevention measures, like the measures she implemented in Champaign. She said the city of Champaign implemented measures with Carle Foundation Hospital, which have really helped.
Roberson said other communities have put former violent offenders in positions of mediating the violence, and she is open to working with the Danville Police Department to implement outreach.
“I think the street outreach piece is a huge part of that. There’s also a component of hospital-based violence intervention,” Roberson said there are caseworkers at Carle who meet with gun violence victims before they leave the hospital. “They can be connected to resources when they leave, because we know that people leaving the hospital after being shot, that’s the time that they’re most likely to go retaliate. So, these hospital-based violence interventions can help stop that, reach out to that cycle of retaliation, violence, with supports in place before you even leave.”
Roberson said there may be talks in the future with OSF Healthcare in Danville to implement similar strategies. However, the city of Champaign funds the initiatives at Carle.
Roberson said there are block parties planned for June with the youth initiative with Project Success, but volunteers and donations are needed for the rest of the summer.
“The hope is that other organizations can step up and help, maybe get us through July and August,” she said. “Even folks willing to write checks from their organizations to help build out an infrastructure… Project Success has been doing a great job of leading this violence prevention charge.”
Following the meeting, Project Success and Family Outreach shared their thoughts on their Facebook page.
“Tonight’s community meeting was another important step forward in the ongoing work to create safer, stronger, and more connected communities,” the post says. “These conversations matter — and so does the continued commitment to standing beside our youth and investing in their future. The work does not stop here. Every meeting, every conversation, and every act of community support is another stepping stone toward something greater.”