Mr. William Patterson, CEO at Universal Healthcare Management Services reached out to TRUE, seeking to partner, as we have related missions. I was honored to be invited to speak at a community event Mr. Patterson was hosting – this was a rededication of the facility where his organization is based, in honor of two individuals killed by gun violence. Mr. Patterson and I had not met in person and I was grateful for the trust involved in inviting me to speak as a community partner at such a meaningful event. I spoke briefly and introduced TRUE and its mission. I did not know the other community partners, but Mr. Patterson had told them about me and TRUE and I felt immediately included. As I was leaving, the mother of the young man they were honoring gave me a hug and thanked me for being there. (This could sound like we’re trying to amp up the pain or take advantage of this - I definitely don’t want to do that so feel free to leave it out. It just meant a lot and is part of why we want to go to events like this – to join with the community in violence prevention).