ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Marches to end violence in the city of Rochester extended into the surrounding towns Thursday night.

Uniting & Healing Through Hope of Monroe County, an anti-violence group made up of community, faith, and law enforcement leaders, hosted two marches.

One started on Westfall Road in Brighton and the other on Jefferson Road in Rush-Henrietta. The marches aimed to get people from outside the city limits involved in the discussion.

"It is a pandemic people and in order for us to stop this, we have to come together," said Rose Tomlinson of Rochester. "We have to gather together to bring meaningful conversation, have those conversations, have those tough conversations. We can't let lines on the map or lines in the county divide us anymore. We have to look past those lines."

Both marches ended at the MCC campus in Brighton where a community discussion was held.

Organizers say there will be similar events in other towns around Rochester.