BUFFALO, N.Y. — There’s not a day that goes by where Karen Owens doesn’t remember her son Benji, who was killed 13 years ago this month.
But Monday night, remembering him hurt a little less.
“It’s just knowing that I’m not alone,” she said.
Sixteen years ago, the House of Representatives and the United States Senate designated Sept. 25 as the National Day of Remembrance for Murder Victims. Owens, along with dozens of other Western New Yorkers, came together at Pilgrim Baptist Church Monday night to remember their loved ones lost.
Pastor Frank Bostic was one of those in attendance. His best friend was shot 108 times on Christmas Eve in 1989.
“I was just tore up,” he said. “I was ripped to pieces. I had no answer. It was unfair.”
His understanding of that pain those in attendance have felt is what inspired him to try to use the past to change the future, particularly when it comes to gun reform.
“We need to show that we are no longer a victim,” Bostic said. “We need to do what we can to do within the means of the law to somehow put a stop to it.”
Through their pain, one message reigned true Monday: the road to healing doesn’t have to be traveled alone.
“That's another family extended family for me,” Owens said. “They're always just a phone call away.”
“Togetherness let you know that you're not by yourself,” Bostic said.