Indianapolis – A pastor in Indianapolis devoted his time to finding ways to stop violence in the city, saying that although the violence continues to hurt, we cannot give up on efforts to stop it.
“When we look at acts of violence and we see people resorting to weapons to resolve conflict. It can always be something that is discouraging, but I remain encouraged and understanding,” said Pastor Kenneth Sullivan Jr., senior pastor at New Direction Church.
He is continuing his efforts to stop the violence.
“I have the unfortunate task of burying children as young as 12 years old with gun violence,” Sullivan said. “11 year old men and women, adults and children also because of gun violence and it stays with you. So, I started collecting tributes because I have done so much.”
Sullivan has devoted effort and time to working with the community to end the violence.
In fact, he invited WRTV in January to talk about a new initiative.
A technical program called “1150 Academy” trains students so that they have skills in the areas of coding and cyber security, just to name a few of the jobs to be followed.
“We have about 25 to 30 people enrolled,” Sullivan said.
Months later, there’s still more demand, but Sullivan is trying to bring the program to more young adults.
“I may not be able to stop every case of gun violence. Sullivan said that we may not be able to see all this change, but if we can help these young people who are within our reach, we are making a difference in our lives.
Just a few days ago, while Sullivan was in his church office, he heard Gunshots from a funeral home Right next door on East 38th Street.
He said seeing the work he and other community leaders are doing could lead to more shootings and killings, it can be a bit discouraging.
But leaving the post is not enough for them.
Instead, they will continue to exert more pressure and work together until the job is done.
“We’re going to host some barber shop talksSullivan said.
“We have to figure out how we can use the right kinds of resources and bring them to the people who are harming them and deliver them to those in need,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan said that during the summer, Indianapolis communities face a lot of violence. He encourages families to take advantage of Programs such as the Safe Summer Initiative,