Monday marks seven years since the Pulse nightclub shooting where 49 people lost their lives.
This year the Pulse Remembrance Ceremony will be held at the Dr. Phillips Center. All of the speakers and performers during the hour-long program will be families of victims and survivors.
Deborah Bowie is the new director of OnePulse. Bowie said even with the changes, the emphasis remains the same: never forgetting the lives that were lost that night.
“I have a personal experience with gun violence," said Bowie. "I lost my sister to a murder in ‘94. And that's 29 years ago this year. So I can tell you as someone who's living it, it never goes away for these families. And it never should, we should never become so numb to the pain and loss and suffering that people are experiencing in this country because we have a gun violence problem.”
Bowie said especially this year, it's crucial to honor their legacies in the face of hate.
“And I just think it's important, no matter how much time goes by, to come out and remember and to support and to love people through their healing journey," said Bowie. "We have gotten so complacent. I think we move from one mass shooting, one school shooting to the next never stopping to think about the consequences."
Tickets to the event are free. Register here. The service will also be livestreamed on the OnePulse Facebook page.
