PRICE HILL — There's no timestamp on how long the healing process is after your child is shot and killed. A Mother's Voice is a support group in Cincinnati that strives to foster a safe space for grieving and healing.
Natasha Croom is still brought to tears when she visits the street in Price Hill where her son, Anthony Howard Jr., was shot and killed.
"I didn't get to say goodbye," she said. "And that's what hurts the most."
Howard was murdered in 2023. Croom said police still haven't found the suspect, so her family has been posting flyers, hoping they will have peace of mind one day.
"I need justice for my son," Croom said. "I am my son's voice."
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Croom seeks comfort from A Mother's Voice. Rochelle Wood created the organization knowing the pain of losing a child to gun violence.
"This tragedy, I'm turning it into purpose," Wood said.
Wood's son, Josiah Maleek Harris, was shot and killed in Green Township in 2021.
"When I got the call, it took the breath out of my body," she said.
Wood created A Mother's Voice out of her pain, hoping to find a community to support her as she grieved and tried to heal.
"If we want to be angry, if we want to pray, cry, scream, we can," she said.
Cincinnati City Council is hoping to amplify her efforts by creating a gun violence memorial for families like Croom and Wood. The council said they want to make a permanent memorial to honor those no longer with us. The Public Safety and Governance Committee filed a report from City Manager Sheryl Long earlier this month that included a feasibility study to make this project a reality.
Groundbreaking on a gun violence memorial is set for April.
