ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Law enforcement officials in Rochester are busy with investigations following a weekend of violence in the city.

It means, unfortunately, that the work is never done for the human services group Rise Up Rochester.

What You Need To Know

  • The president of Rise Up Rochester continues to reach out to families of murder victims

  • Ridgeway is comforting the family of Janet Jordan, 35, who police say was shot and killed on Friday

  • This came after she spent time in the school Bryson Simpson attended, who police say was killed on Friday after getting off a bus

It's an organization that aims to empower the community to establish and maintain a nonviolent culture. 

Just after getting off the bus from school last Friday, police say multiple shots were fired at Bryson Simpson, 17, and three of his friends. His friends were not hurt, but Simpson was killed.

“Responding to that homicide was a little difficult,” said Wanda Ridgeway, president of Rise Up Rochester. “And, you know, hearing of how he was murdered, it was devastating.”

Ridgeway meets the victim’s families to offer help, counseling, guidance or anything they may need. On Monday, she joined Rochester City School District counselors and trauma professionals at Simpson’s school.

“A lot of our students, they don't know what to do,” she said. “They don't know what to yell or scream. Or they don't think it's OK to cry. It’s really to support them and just let them vent, you know, and describe how they're feeling. Some shed tears. Some just shared memories [and] laughter. [They] wanted to remember him that way.”

While Ridgeway was with the students on Monday, she was called to a crime scene on Wetmore Park.

“Yeah, it is heartbreaking,” Ridgeway said. “It's like, dang, can we get through one homicide?”

At the scene, she would learn from police that Janet Jordan, 35, was shot and killed. New York State Police and Mayor Malik Evans’ office said Melvin Williams, 43, a Rochester police sergeant, was a “person of interest.” Police later announced he was found dead in a car in Henrietta from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

This past weekend also included a double homicide on State Street early Sunday morning.

“I'm a little worried,” Ridgeway said. “We already surpassed numbers from last year.”

There have been outreach groups out on Rochester’s streets for decades making a difference, but Ridgeway says what's different now is that they are collaborating.

“We are out here,” Ridgeway said. “They do work tirelessly. They are responding to shootings. They're in the schools. They're doing what they can.”

She says responding to one murder scene after another can take a toll.

"A lot of people say, ‘how do you do this?’ And I say, ‘it’s my faith,’" Ridgeway said. "I trust in God, you know. I never thought this is something that I would be doing. But I turn my pain into a purpose. And my purpose is wanting to help people."

Ridgeway says she has faith that Rise Up Rochester and the other organizations will put a dent in the rising numbers of violent crimes.