JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville father who lost three sons to gun violence started an organization to mentor young men.
Daryl Crowden created the “Janitor for Life” organization years after he was incarcerated.
“We all going to have to come together to help stop this,” Crowden said.
Crowden lost three of his sons in the last 10 years to gun violence. His first son killed was Devron Crowden in 2014. Three years later in 2017, his son Rakwon Backley died, and last October, his son Darrius Murray died.
“That’s one of the things I wake up every day and think about too, is that if I could have been home because I did a prison bid,” Crowden said. “I was gone away [...] that’s why that always haunts me because I know if I was here it could have been a difference even in a way of thinking.”
Crowden’s brother was also a victim of gun violence.
"I feel bad when I have to look at my mama from time-to-time. I see the burden she has to care. I lose my child. And it’s still a cold case,” Crowden said.
His organization mentors the youth and educates them about gun violence.
“Nobody never thinks that kids are dying the way that they are now. Not when it don’t have to be. Not when it can be some better guidance there, to show them and give them more options,” Crowden said.
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters has taken the initiative to decrease crime in the community with his sheriff walks throughout the city.
His next walk will be Saturday, June 29, in the Beacon Hills and Harbor community.