For far too many of our youth, tomorrow never comes. Youth violence is an epidemic, and every life lost is a story. Families are being destroyed at an alarming rate. Every child lost represents a unique story, and we tell those stories. We ensure that the remarkable memories, the wonderful moments, and the agonizing grief are preserved.
KnowYourTomorrow is a social media platform designed to raise awareness and reduce the rate of youth violence by sharing the stories of those lost. Unlike the typical success stories seen in programming achievements, these stories are different. They are meant to hurt, to remind us of the painful reality. KnowYourTomorrow tells the stories of children and families who don’t have a tomorrow because of life-altering incidents of violence. Our mission is to contribute to stemming the tide of youth violence, one story at a time.
Through video, we develop stories of loss. We memorialize not only the lives of children lost to violence but also the grief left behind. Our society has become accustomed to brief sound bites, with news cycles reduced to 30-second spots, even for the most heart-wrenching stories. Youth violence has tragically become second nature. A child dies, the news covers it briefly, and then the story is forgotten as the media moves on to the next headline.
But for the families who experience this loss, the pain never moves on. Their story is one of constant grief, playing on repeat every single day. KnowYourTomorrow memorializes these stories for all time, presenting the depth of pain and loss for the world to see. We serve to highlight the lifelong emptiness that violence causes, hoping to create awareness in those responsible for this devastation.
Our society must do better in recognizing the immeasurable loss when a child is taken. It is critical for us to feel the intensity of grief each of these stories represents. By sharing these painful stories, we hope to reach those who may be in a position to cause such pain or have already caused it, prompting them to reflect on the lifelong impact of their actions and choose a different path. If we prevent even one child, one family, or one potential perpetrator from enduring or causing such suffering, we will have achieved our goal.
We must ensure that these lost children are not just statistics or brief soundbites, but lives that, even in their loss, contribute to the betterment of society for all time.