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DORCHESTER, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Dozens of Dorchester teenagers called for a city-wide cease-fire at a town hall meeting at Lena Park Community Center on Saturday.
The organization, Teen Empowerment, arranged the meeting to organize a cease-fire in Boston to help put an end to violence as gun violence has been on the rise.
"Gun violence stems from social economic disadvantage so when you say cease fire we have to go deeper into why the fire's even happening," Bianca Clark, of the Boston Community Action Team, told WBZ's Suzanne Sausville.
The meeting discussed organizing a cease-fire in the city while creating support systems for service providers, expungement advocacy, and creating a space for those who have been affected to grieve.
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"There is no room for a conversation when people are losing their lives because people are in the mode of survival," Clark said.
Deandre Avant with Teen Empowerment was at the event asking for action after having first-hand experiences with the city's gun violence.
"Someone that helped me get my housing for this year actually got murdered back in May, and on top of that too the community barber that used to cut my hair when I was growing up also got murdered in July," Avant said. "It's ridiculous that I have to go on my phone and find out that someone in my neighborhood got shot or killed."
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