PORTLAND, Ore. — Bullet Free Weekends (BFW) made a comeback to Dawson Park for the group's 75th event to date. It's an event to bring awareness to gun violence, crime and ways to combat both.
Lionel Irving, founder of Love Is Stronger and cohost of BFW, says the location they choose to host their events are purposeful.
"We place our events [in] areas where trauma is at so we can begin the healing process,” said Irving. “We come before shots are fired. We have a positive influence on the environment. My guys have been at Dawson Park for the last year and some change for four to eight hours a day every day.”
Irving, alongside many other members of Love Is Stronger, makes it their goal to help end gun violence in the Portland community. That includes de-escalating situations that could in fact end in gunfire — by using their active bystander model.
The Portland Police Bureau is reporting nearly 500 shooting incidents took place last year. At least three of them happened at or near Dawson park. Claiming the life of a Portland man — Mark Johnson.
lrving says he is greatly aware of Dawson Park's past and is working to make this a safe place for kids and families.
That also includes Talmage Ellis. Ellis is with Love Is Stronger and says he has de-escalated 51 situations where shots could have been fired if he was there around the Portland area — including Dawson Park.
“I’ve sat down with a lot of different gang members and rivals who didn’t get along with each other and I’ve mended it. I have gotten them to come together and become as one," said Ellis. "Dawson Park is really the only park that deals with African Americans and at risk youth. So one of my angles is to try to change some of the thinking of our youth."
These pop-up events also serve as a way for Black-owned small businesses to connect with the community and positively influence the youth.
“It is very important because as a mother with boys,” said Rae Williams, a mother, small business owner and the cohost of BFW. “I would like to keep my boys entertained and out of the streets and I like to help others in the community come together to keep the violence to a minimum.”
And that’s what the group Soldiers of Love is aiming to do. Nate Bunn is 16-years-old and is with Soldiers of Love. He tells KGW his family members have been victims of gun violence and he’s doing what he can to be a positive influence on the youth around him.
“You only get one life and there’s no coming back so there are a lot of hard decisions and there’s a lot of extra stuff you have to do within, that like me. I’m out here I don’t have to worry about anyone harming me. I don’t have to worry about anything like that. I don’t have to look over my shoulder and feel like that’s the way life should be,” said Bunn. "I would just like to see the funds going up and the guns coming down."