Sunday, a group of women committed to fighting violence in Boston gathered for a first-ever picnic.
Operation LIPSTICK, which stands for Ladies Involved in Putting a Stop to Inner-City Killings, was organized in Boston about three years ago.
The group is run by women who have been there. The goal of the picnic Sunday was to show the community that this organization is here and that women can be the ones to put a stop to violence in the community.
One of the issues that LIPSTICK targets is women who buy or hold guns for men - it's called "straw buying," and it happens here in Boston.
Two women who lost their sons to gun violence say they want to honor all the lives lost here in Boston to senseless violence. But they also want people to know they're here, trying to be a solution to end the violence.
"Our mission is 'Refuse to be used to take a life.' What does that mean? Don't allow anyone to influence you to do something that you know is wrong, that at the end of the day, someone's life is going to either be harmed or taken by that gun," said Kim Odom.
"We need to support some of the surviving mothers, and I am one, and I only speak for myself. But we also need to work with that family, the mother that might have lost their son to a life of pulling the trigger," said Ruth Rollins. "Because I believe if we can empower her and lift her up, maybe we can give her some hope so the cycle of violence will stop in her household."
Massachusetts
The latest news from around the state
"People are like, 'Enough is enough.' They don't want to be listening to gunshots, they don't want to be seeing the violence, they don't want to be going to funerals," said Mayor Marty Walsh. "I think that we've just got to continue the efforts of working together."
Walsh says that peace walks some city and religious leaders have been doing will continue, because he believes they're working.
