Letters to the Editor: Homicides are up in L.A. It’s time for alternative ways to curb violence

To the editor: I am incensed at how normalized violence has become. Firearms are the leading cause of death for American children and teens, and all we can say is, “Now what?” Unacceptable. (“In Los Angeles, murder is back. Now what?” editorial, Oct. 15)

My youngest daughter, Monique Roxanne Nelson, was killed on Dec. 14, 2010, shielding her 2-year-old son from a barrage of bullets discharged by rival gang members. My purpose for living is to do everything possible to ensure that not one more family has to experience the devastation that a senseless act of gun violence causes.

Let’s be proactive by providing gang intervention workers the resources necessary to keep Los Angeles safe. As a volunteer with the group Moms Demand Action and a survivor of gun violence, I support the L.A. Intervention Coalition’s request for $54 million to be invested in community-based responses to violence.

We need alternative ways of addressing gun violence, including increasing the number of gang intervention workers who can keep peace on the streets of Los Angeles.

Deborah Nelson, Toluca Lake