It’s been a little more than five years since Rhonda Valentine Free lost her daughter to gun violence at a Halloween party.

“I could never have never imagined, in 1,000 years, that my daughter would have left before me,” said Free.

Omani Free, 18, attended a party in the city of Newburgh on Broadway, where a gunman opened fire and shot seven people, including Omani.

“We had ended up going to the hospital and what seems like hours waiting in a waiting room; we finally got in and my daughter was still hanging on then. She eventually passed away,” said Free.

Tabitha Cruz, 20, was also killed in the shooting. It was in grief that the families of the young women came together to make a change.

The families formed an online organization called “For the love of Tabby and Omani” where they provide support and healing for families affected by gun violence. They do an annual “stop the violence” community walk. And as a special celebration for the women’s birthdays, “Omani and Tabby Day” was organized in mid-August.

“Omani and Tabby [were] born a day apart, but two years later,” Free said. “So we get together with the community and we do a carnival-type event.”

For National Crime Victims Rights Week in April, both families initiated the event to welcome families of victims, survivors and community members to a memorial service.

For the past five years, Free made it a point to continue to honor her daughter’s memory by taking part in various gun violence awareness walks and events.

“We're sick and tired of the gun violence and the violence in Newburgh. It's not right,” Free said. “It's not fair. You take away from families. Not only does one person lose out, everybody loses out.”