Harrisburg area residents lost to gun violence memorialized through T-shirt display

Memorial to local gun violence victims outside the Harrisburg Quaker Meeting House

Driving along N. 6^th Street in Harrisburg, you may see a colorful display of T-shirts lining a section of the road.

While brightly colored, the shirts symbolize a more somber issue of gun violence, memorializing those locally whose lives have been taken.

The display, located outside of the Harrisburg Quaker Meeting House, on the 1100-block of N. 6^th Street, was installed in partnership with the local chapter of the nonprofit Heeding God’s Call to End Gun Violence. The memorial features about 50 shirts with the names of Harrisburg area residents whose lives were lost to gun violence.

For Ruth Seitz, a member of the Harrisburg Quakers, also known as The Religious Society of Friends, the message hits home. She has lost two family members to gun violence.

“I have a personal real deep commitment to this issue,” she said. “A gunshot is so final. It’s such an incredible loss to families.”

According to Seitz, the memorial fits with the Quakers’ focus on nonviolence and peace. Both bringing awareness to the prevalence of gun violence and advocating to reduce it are important parts of the organization’s mission.

“Quakers are the kind of people that step out and want to make a difference,” she said.

In conjunction with the memorial, the Quakers and Heeding God’s Call to End Gun Violence will send letters to local and state lawmakers in support of gun reform legislation.

The memorial will be outside of the meeting house through Sept. 1. From there, it will move to different local religious places of worship.

“We are hoping people who pass by will maybe slow down and read what it’s about,” Seitz said. “We hope people will think about the ways they can be more peaceful in their own lives and maybe take action to reduce gun violence in some way.”

The Harrisburg Quaker Meeting House is located at 1100 N. 6^th St., Harrisburg. For more information, visit their website. To learn more about Heeding God’s call to End Gun Violence, visit their website.

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