ROANOKE, Va. – Joey Joyce Sr. would have turned 44 last week. He was shot and killed on Hershberger Road in Roanoke back in 2004.
“I really just felt like I lost everything,” said Rita Joyce, his mother.
Since then, Joyce has worked to help others who’ve lost a loved one to gun violence. She’s the president and a founder of FEDUP, a nonprofit that reaches out to families after a deadly shooting to comfort, provide resources, and prevent retaliation.
“We kind of pull them in and we say, ‘No, this is not the way,’” said Joyce.
FEDUP runs mostly on volunteers and community donations. That’s why Joyce applied for a $30,000 grant from Roanoke City’s Gun Violence Prevention Commission to scale up and make sure FEDUP’s mission is sustainable.
The commission received 29 applicants requesting a total of $712,000. However, the commission only has $300,000 to spend.
The Commission met for five hours on Friday to weigh the strengths and challenges of each proposal using a detailed scoring matrix. Members debated the impact, sustainability, and urgency of each proposal. Once awarded, each nonprofit must spend all the funding by June 30.
City Councilman and commission member Joe Cobb says the biggest challenge is that there’s not enough money to go around.
“We need citizens to do everything they can to support all of the organizations who are doing this work. Because the more we are collectively engaged in this effort, the more we’re going to see a decrease in violence in our community,” said Cobb.
It’s been almost 20 years since Joyce lost her son. With or without the funding, Joyce says FEDUP won’t stop.
“I hope he’s looking down and he’s proud of what his mom is doing in honor of him,” said Joyce.