NEW ORLEANS — In April, 22-year-old Austin Boykins was walking to a bus stop when two men robbed and shot him, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down and more than $70,000 dollars in medical debt.
On Saturday evening, a fundraiser at Verret's Bar and Lounge (1738 Washington Ave, New Orleans, LA 70113) in Central City aimed to help relieve some of that debt.
It's the weekend before the Fourth of July holiday but community members wanted to take out to help Boykins.
According to his friends, he was walking near Read and Curran boulevards in New Orleans East, on his way to work, when his life was changed forever. Boykins survived the attack, but is living with the use of a special wheelchair that he's had to learn to use.
With the medical debt for the wheelchair and other expenses, his friends, like Rosie Cann, gathered to raise money for him to get back on solid ground.
"This is not an uncommon story in this city, fortunately, but we're bringing some awareness to the issue and showing how easy it is for a community to come together and pitch in and help the people at the end of it," Cann said.
People brought food, made a pot luck and sold art, plus there was a concert featuring local acts like the Baby Boy Bartles, VeeDeshNee and more.
The event went until Midnight.