MILWAUKEE — With every step, Lashawnda Wilkins is grateful.

“I’m humbled, I’m always in a place of reflection as I walk across this bridge,” Wilkins said. 

Back on July 4, 2014, Wilkins was hanging out with her sister and some friends just over the bridge on 50th Street off Congress Street in Milwaukee. 

“We were watching fireworks, cracking jokes,” Wilkins said. “Great energy and in an instant, it all changed.”

She was 24 years old when she was robbed and shot.

“It’s the grace of God that has kept me here. This could have been the last view that I saw,” she said.

Wilkins said her near-death experience sparked everything she is doing right now.

It’s what led Wilkins to become a motivational speaker and launch SpeakLife Magazine, a free local publication aimed at exposing the positivity in the inner city of Milwaukee.

“We highlight the journeys of upcoming professionals, entrepreneurs, creatives, and people doing positive things in our community,” she said.

The magazine comes out four times a year. Creating the content allows Wilkins to tap into her purpose. 

The recent launch of her new opportunity center on Milwaukee’s north side is the next step in her mission for change.

“I feel like it is up to us to make a change in our city if we want to see that,” she said. 

She is fighting the violence on Milwaukee streets through the power of positivity.

Visit https://www.speaklifenation.com/ for more.