Gold: Keeping Them Alive
"Celebrating their life keeps them alive," says Persephone Modeste, a therapist based in Rochester, N.Y., where friends and family pay tribute to loved ones killed by gun violence using customs and rituals that signify death is not the end of life for the deceased. Loved ones are celebrated and kept close through objects and events that honor their legacy. "Sometimes, the pain bears you down so much that you have to think of something joyful to be able to move on because it can be debilitating," says Modeste.
Leslie’s Tribute for Jalen
Leslie Gordon, center in orange, looks up and waves at a paper lantern she released during the fourth-anniversary party for her late son Jalen Everett at her home in Rochester, N.Y., on April 26, 2023. “It's like a balloon release but it's a little bit more intimate because when you light the fire, the message is supposed to get to him…it goes directly up to heaven.” According to Leslie, she learned about this practice from a grief support group she is a member of on social media.
