KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Music, toys and balloons, the room in the East Village looks like a kid's dream, but its meaning is much deeper.
Children of Homicide Victims (COHV) is one big support group. During the sixth annual Gifts to Heal event, kids are able to pick out toys, have a good meal, and celebrate the holidays.
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One mother, Jasmine French, sees it as a community, because they've all been through something traumatic.
"When you just look around, just…. trauma, sadness," French said. "I guess it’s all relatable."
French's two sons lost their father this year, something other kids at the event can relate to, with the deadly year Kansas City has seen.
"I just try to let them know like the sad, the happy, you know, it’s gonna come," French said. "And you know, as a mother, we in this together."
COHV founder Sunnie Carney knows how hard the holidays can be, especially for single parents. She, herself, is a child of a homicide victim.
"I wanted to be that resource for children like me so that they wouldn’t feel like Christmas was too much of a difference without their parents," Carney said.
By coming together like they do every year, faces become familiar and eventually family.
"To know, 'Hey you're not alone, you got me, I went through this process, this is where I am in this process and you can be too,'" Carney said.
The smiles on the kids faces is a gift in itself to the parents.
"It gets crazier every year and every year we’re hopeful that we see a stop to the violence and the increase in violence," Carney said. "But of course, we’re just leaning on a prayer, and some hope."
Learning on some hope, and the idea of knowing you're not alone this holiday season.
"Thank you, for real, honestly," French said.
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