NEW ORLEANS — Nekisha McGlothen celebrated her son’s 18th birthday Tuesday without him.
“We did the birthday cake. We went out to the grave, did flowers, and everybody just said something, their fondest memory of him,” said McGlothen.
It’s a painful reality she’s still learning to deal with. Her son, Khyron Nellon, was 15 when he was shot and killed on Iberville Street in New Orleans. That was August 1st, 2021.
“I relive my phone call everyday,” said McGlothen. “So, it takes a toll.”
Since her son’s death, McGlothen has worked to honor his memory while making sure other kids aren’t caught up in violence. She started K3 Lives, a foundation dedicated to community outreach. “K-3” was her son’s nickname on the basketball court.
“I see a part of my kid in every child that I come in contact with. Just the joy and the different things we do with the foundation, just the joy of hearing the kids laugh, it helps me a lot,” said McGlothen.
“These last two years, we serviced maybe 5,000 families, and we’ve been in touch with so many youths,” said HOPE Organization founder Michel Willis.
Teaming up with the HOPE organization, which stands for Helping Other People Endure, McGlothen and Willis have hosted plenty of events. Through fundraising and money from their own pockets, they’re once again handing out $1,000 scholarships.
“It’s just to keep the kids motivated, give them something to work towards and let them know that the things they’re doing good are being rewarded and not overlooked,” said McGlothen.
The scholarships are for senior basketball players with the highest G.P.A. at John Ehret High School in Jefferson Parish. It’s where Khyron played basketball and was supposed to graduate from this year.
That’s a missed opportunity that Willis says is too common.
“We have a real crisis that’s going on,” said Willis.
According to the Metropolitan Crime Commission, preliminary numbers show that 35 of the 218 homicide victims in New Orleans last year were kids.
“I’ve seen the kids in the casket. I’ve seen the tragedy and the trauma,” said Willis.
Turning that tragedy and trauma into action and change is what keeps McGlothen and Wills from giving up on kids.
“For the amount of tears that I cry, I need to see all those smiles,” said McGlothen.
Those smiles help make each birthday without her son a little more bearable.
The 15-year-old boy responsible for killing Khyron Nellon was sentenced to juvenile life for second-degree murder. The teen is set to be released in a couple of years.
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