PRAIRIEVILLE — A non-profit organization is on a mission to stop a cycle of violence by helping young men who have lost loved ones.

LEAD, which stands for Love, Educate, Advocate and Dream, aims to be a beacon of hope and a way to make others feel heard. The after-school group, based out of Ascension Parish, offers a four-week program in which a mentor teaches kids how to stay out of trouble through fun activities, showing them that the simple things in life can be enjoyable.  

“We teach how if you keep going forward, you're gonna reach your goal. You may not get there overnight, but you're gonna reach it," founder Romain Leblanc said.

According to 2023 statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1,261 people across the state died from gun violence. 

Leblanc is all too familiar with the pain of losing a loved one this way. He lost his cousin, Welman Earl, in 2002. He built LEAD on the phrase, "How many more?"

“How many more does it take for you to care, for you to really step in?" Leblanc said. "Don’t wait for it to hit your door, cause we know when it hits your door, you're gonna care, but we are supposed to care for our neighbors.”

Stephon Kirklon joined LEAD when he was suffering from that same pain.  

“Three of my cousins died to gun violence, and that affected me a lot, because I lost my first cousin when I was young, so it was really hard," Kirklon said. "I didn't know what to do, who to go to, and I did certain things that I really regretted.”

Kirklon said LEAD taught him that violence is never the answer.  

“You don’t need a gun to protect you all the time. You can go do a lot of things other than just have beef with somebody and then go kill them over some small things," Kirklon said. "You can imagine what their mom goes through and the nights that she doesn’t have her baby anymore.”

In 2021, Tomeca Hoyal lost her son, David, to gun violence. She described him as "silly" and "a big teddy bear." In his honor, she founded a chapter of LEAD called Young Steppers.  

Hoyal said her 15-year-old son, Chris, has become more open and talkative since he joined the program.

The mentors want the community to support programs like LEAD. 

On Oct. 6, in partnership with Capital Region Crime Stoppers, LEAD will host its "Beyond Bars" event at Mike Anderson's in Gonzales. The guests who bring the most youth attendees can win a cash prize.