25 faces along Sherman Blvd show the lives Milwaukee has lost to gun violence

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- This weekend, gun violence advocates are wearing orange to draw attention to the lives the city has lost to gun violence.

Mayor Tom Barrett declared Friday, June 4 National Gun Violence Awareness Day in Milwaukee.

On Saturday, June 5, advocates held a drive-thru memorial aimed at keeping their names and memories alive.

"We have signs from 25 families that will show the photo of their loved one that has been lost to gun violence," said Andrea Fischer from the Wisconsin Chapter of Moms Demand Action.

The memorial began at Center Street and Sherman Boulevard, and the route traveled northbound along Sherman Boulevard to Sherman Park.

"People will see that this is a problem ... You hear on the news 'two shootings last night,' but when you see the faces of these people, it really brings home how difficult this is," Fischer said.

Camille Mays lost her son, Darnell Woodard II, to gun violence on Nov. 10, 2019. She went to the memorial Saturday and cried what she called "happy tears" because the memorial is keeping his memory alive.

"I just want to have people know that the pain never goes away. Two weeks later, a lot of people disappear, but families need that continuous support," Mays said.

The Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention and gun violence prevention advocates handed out free gun locks outside of Sherman Park.

"We want everyone to be responsible gun owners," said Arnitta Holliman, director of the Milwaukee Office of Violence Prevention.

Holliman said OVP is working every day to prevent another family from losing a loved one to gun violence.

"We need everybody to step up together and to say that gun violence is not OK and to help us work together to heal both individually and collectively, and to remember those that have been lost," Holliman said.