Turning Pain into Purpose: St. Pete Organizations Bring Community Together at Annual Block Party

A St. Petersburg mother who lost her son to suicide three years ago is turning her grief into a movement — and she’s bringing her community along with her.

Ricquesha Fuller founded Keshawn’s Korner, a nonprofit named after her son Keshawn, who died by suicide at 21 years old. The organization works to bridge gaps in mental health resources for young men.

On Saturday, Fuller and other groups hosted the third annual 6:13 Block Party at Lake Vista Recreation Center in St. Petersburg, drawing dozens of organizations focused on men’s mental health and gun violence prevention.

“It’s a thing where you kind of turn pain into purpose, if you will, and for whatever I know, this could be my purpose,” Fuller said.

The loss of her son could have broken her. Instead, it redirected her.

“You got a choice, do I want to sit and mourn and be sad, or you know I didn’t save him, but I could save someone else,” Fuller said.

The event comes during a significant time of year. June is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month, and Father’s Day is just days away.

Jerome Kynard, who works with the Juvenile Welfare Board — a group focused on getting more resources into the hands of kids and their parents — said the timing and the mission go hand in hand.

“We really wanted to raise awareness on men’s mental health and the significant role it plays in the community,” Kynard said.

The block party also featured a panel of parents who have lost children to gun violence, including Maress Scott, whose son Marquis was killed in 2019 at just 20 years old.

“My son Marquis, he was a kid who had such a great smile. When he got off the bus in the morning, as a young kid, you could see a smile from a block away,” Scott said.

Scott described the circumstances of his son’s death.

“It just so happens that he was with some guys he thought were friends, and one of the guys took the life, or actually shot a kid, and they thought my kid might say something, so they came back and killed my son as well,” said Scott.

In the wake of that loss, Scott and his family chose a path of forgiveness and founded Quis for Life.

“No one had to do something. It couldn’t be just about revenge and justice, which is still revenge in most people’s eyes. So, through our faith in God, me, myself, and my family, we decided love and forgiveness was the way to go. So we created Quis for Life,” Scott said.

Fuller echoed that message of hope for anyone struggling. “Let everyone know it’s OK to not be OK, but there is help, and there are resources available for you to go ahead and get the help that you need,” Fuller said.

Read the article and view the segment as originally published at https://www.tampabay28.com/news/region-pinellas/turning-pain-into-purpose-st-pete-organizations-bring-community-together-at-annual-block-party