Dear friend:

Over 20 years ago my life was changed forever by the killing of my 17 year old son Duriel Lamar Ryan. Duriel was walking away from a heated argument with a peer when he was shot. This tragedy led me to work for lasting change that will prevent others from facing a similar fate.

In 2015, I established OG’s Against Violence to support other anti-violence and anti-poverty organizations in the community and reach out to those engaging in violence. From my perspective, "boots on the ground" has always been the most important part of work to end gun violence. Violence interruption is an entirely different approach – that's what I do on the streets of Syracuse. OG's trains people to de-escalate conflicts and keep our communities safer.

We need more youth programs and more engagement from the community to rekindle the type of community-based camaraderie that prevents violence. I speak regularly at events organized by other organizations to work for justice and end poverty and violence. OG's goes into schools to connect with youth in our community. As part of that we use two coloring books we've developed as resources.

From 2015 to 2024, our work has stopped 44 shootings, 310 stabbings and 1,086 fights from occurring.

Learn more about our work and how you can support us here.

Clifford Ryan
Founder and Vice Chair, OG's Against Violence

#buryguns #guncontrol #gunreformNOW #endgunviolence #marchforourlives #protectourkids

 https://syracuseculturalworkers.com/collections/gun-control