No More Violence Week, a week-long effort to bring people together to work on preventing violence, is returning to Great Falls for a ninth year.
Red and blue flashing lights on police vehicles and yellow crime scene tape have been a common sight in Great Falls over the past month and a half.
The most recent incident, an hours-long standoff at a home on March 20 with a shooting suspect.
Between February 21 and March 17 a teen was shot walking to school, a man and a Great Falls police officer were shot as police chased the man after he ran from a traffic stop, a man was shot and killed in an intersection, and a woman was shot and killed in a home.
"I personally took pause point after each of the stories at a local and a national level over just the last few weeks and thought 'You know, perhaps this week couldn't be at a more pivotal point,'" said No More Violence Week chair Jamie Marshall.
Marshall said the week continues to grow.
"We do a lot of partnering with the (Paris Gibson) Square Museum of Art. So they're hosting a series of wellness activities this year. We actually have six different organizations hosting book discussions this year, so people can do a little book club about a book called Parent Nation," said Marshall. "We also have threads of connection this year, so we are literally in our second year of creating a community quilt. Hundreds of folks have shared their voice of prevention through art that we are then putting together."
No More Violence Week comes less than a month after President Joe Biden signed an executive order outlining new steps to try to reduce gun violence across the country.
"I'm really pleased that he's making efforts to increase background checks on gun sales and strengthen our use of red flag laws," said Great Falls resident Helena Lovick.
Lovick is a volunteer with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.
After seeing our story last month with Cascade County Sheriff Jesse Slaughter sharing his thoughts on the executive order, a viewer suggested we contact Lovick to get her perspective.
She and fellow Great Falls resident and volunteer Melissa Smith said what President Biden is doing is long overdue.
"We need some regulations. We need to have people be more responsible," Smith said.
They said having a conversation about gun control at the same time No More Violence Week is about to begin is beneficial for the community.
"I think all of us, together, can make a difference and this conversation's going to have to happen for years," Lovick said.
"I think with No More Violence Week you see such a cross section of our community coming together in order to talk about it," Smith said.
No More Violence Week runs April 10-14.
