Vigil to shed light on violence

Posted By NICKI CRUICKSHANK

Posted 6 months ago

Barrie's good name as a safe city is being tarnished by violent crime, and a group of downtown citizens can no longer bite their tongues.

"There have been three violent incidents happen in recent weeks and business owners, residents and even some councillors are equally concerned about the violence," said Yis Cohen, executive director of the David Busby Street Centre in downtown Barrie. "We aren't the problem, but we have to be part of the solution."

The centre has organized a candlelight vigil tonight to speak out against violence in Barrie. And the event is sure to get people's attention.

"We're focusing on the downtown core. It's an opportunity for a unified voice of concern against violence to be heard," Cohen said. "It's going to be a walk and a vigil, because we wanted to be a very visible presence.

"This is supposed to be about a united voice against violence, but also about reflecting on the victims of violence this year and the potential victims."

Cohen said the vigil was planned in light of a string of violent assaults in the downtown area including 45-year-old Michelle Simon's stabbing death at her Mary Street apartment on June 7 and a 42-year-old Barrie woman being sexually assaulted and brutally beaten on the same street on July 14.

The walk begins at 7:30 p. m. outside Central United Church at 54 Ross St., in Barrie.

Then, the group of participants, armed with banners, will walk along Ross, Mary, Dunlop, Mulcaster, Collier and Bayfield streets past city hall and end back at the church.

The prayer vigil will begin shortly before 9 p. m. with lit candles glowing in the night to represent hope for less violence in the community.

"Frankly, we felt this kind of event was needed as a venue of solidarity," Cohen said. "This is not about satisfying the needs of a specific group. This is the community as a whole finding its voice about this issue."

MP Patrick Brown and Coun. Jeff Lehman are scheduled to be part of the event. But Cohen said he's unsure of how many residents will take part.

"We've reached out beyond our own client base to a series of our partner agencies to be part of this," he said. "We have no way of estimating how many people (will show up), but we've encouraged groups and other churches to join in."

ncruickshank @ thebarrieexaminer.com