Friendsgiving for crime survivors held in Lansing

LANSING, Mich. (WILX) - Three homicides in three days have Lansing police searching for suspects... And the local community searching for answers about deadly violence right before the holiday season. Two Lansing organizations hosted a ‘friendsgiving’ event in the hopes of easing people’s minds.

After a violent three days in Lansing, Crime Survivors for Safety Justice and a local non-profit, Remarkable are giving people from all walks of life an opportunity to reflect and heal.

“I think it’s important that we target the younger generations to give them positive role models to look up to and good extracurricular activities and things to keep their minds out of the streets and focused on a better future,” said Brianna Fox, a member of Remarkable, “Survivors of crime are often overlooked.”

It’s a tale that many crime survivors say they’ve experienced. Once the news stories go away, they feel forgotten or alone.

“It’s nice to have a space that recognizes them and recognizes the trauma they have endured and the courage that it takes as a victim and heal,” said Fox.

Which is why the event Tuesday night was so important.

“We invited them to our friendsgving so we can love on them, build relationships with them and just be a community to them,” said Priscilla Bordayo, the Michigan Statewide Manager for Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice and the founder of Remarkable.

The organization wanting to lift people, who feel like they have been left behind.

“Every person wants to belong and they want to feel valued and they want to feel loved and we figured why not let that come from us,” said Bordayo.