LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For three decades, Eddie Woods has been working to make it “uncool” to take part in a shooting, he said.

He has known dozens of victims lost to gun violence, including several family members, and has experienced having gunshots fired at him, he said.  

“A person who takes the shot, person who gets shot, come from a family, so you’re talking about two families destroyed with every shot,” he said.

Woods leads the organization No More Red Dots, Inc., a reference to the markings that might appear on a map after a homicide.

The group launched a new community-focused initiative to address gun violence block by block, called Peace Watch.

Starting with the Russell, Portland, Newburg, California and Shawnee neighborhoods, it will bring community members together for de-escalation and intervention training, canvassing, biweekly strategy meetings, maintaining neighborhood data and social media monitoring, Woods said.

“We need something that’s going to stay in the community and maybe even be passed on in the community as to how the community addresses gun violence, and other violence as well,” he said.

Earlier this year, Russell resident Jackie Floyd told Spectrum News 1 she uses her phone to track where her family members are so she knows they’re safe.

Now, she’s involved in the Peace Watch initiative.

“The reality is that gun violence impacts every resident of Metro Louisville,” said Floyd. “It’s just not an east of Ninth Street thing. It’s not a Russell thing or a California thing. It impacts the whole city. And if we as community members don’t stand up and say, hey, enough is enough … we want to take leadership in reducing violence in our community.”

Community members need to have information and resources to help keep each other safe, they said.

“It’s a mission,” said Woods. “It’s a reason for living. That’s why we got to do it.”