Pomona Peace Walk raises awareness
Claremont Courier
It was fitting that Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center, with its trauma center that has seen so many victims of gun violence over the years, served as the starting point for the October 9 Pomona Peace Walk.
The march, hosted by House of Ruth, the City of Pomona, Project Hope California, and others, drew dozens for the 1.1-mile route from the hospital to House of Ruth’s outreach office at 599 N. Main St., Pomona.
Among them was Sonja Gonzales from Parents Anonymous, who carried a poster with photos of Jeannette Pacheco, a victim of gun violence.
“Her life was taken by her partner,” Gonzales said. “He shot and killed her in the streets of Pomona on Mission, by the car wash.” The date on Gonzales’s poster was May 23, 2024. “She was my sober living sister. I was in recovery with her. And unfortunately, she went back to a disease, and she lost her life.”
Gonzales said she keeps Pacheco’s memory alive with the work she does at Parents Anonymous, a Claremont nonprofit that offers family strengthening programs.
“I get to help people every day that are in the same shoes that her and I were in,” Gonzales said. “I just get to strive and push forward, to know that her life isn’t in vain. She didn’t die in vain because I get to keep her memory alive with every person that I help not end up like her.”