Youth Peace and Justice Foundation Launches Support After Macon Park Shooting
The Youth Peace & Justice Foundation, also known as the Uvalde Foundation for Kids, is responding after a Sunday shooting at Carolyn Crayton Park in Macon, Georgia, left 11 people wounded, including two teenagers who were reported to be in critical condition.
The Foundation announced an emergency support effort for victims and families affected by the shooting. It is also offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information that helps investigators identify those responsible.
For the Foundation, the first concern is the families.
After a violent event, the people closest to it often face a difficult mix of fear, grief, confusion and practical needs. Some need someone to talk to. Some need help finding resources. Some need space and privacy. The Foundation said its response in Macon will be guided by listening first, not by assuming what families need.
The Foundation is opening emergency support for affected families
The Youth Peace & Justice Foundation said it is opening an emergency support effort for victims and families connected to the Carolyn Crayton Park shooting.
That support is meant to be immediate and practical. The Foundation’s peer-support and crisis-team members are available 24 hours a day for anyone affected who needs to speak with someone or needs help finding resources.
People affected by the shooting can reach the Foundation online or by phone at (254) 499-8027.
The Foundation’s crisis response work grew out of tragedy. It was created after the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in May 2022. Since then, it has worked with families and communities across the country after shootings and other emergencies.
That experience shapes how the Foundation approaches a new crisis. It also shapes what it tries not to do.
The Foundation said one lesson has remained clear: no two families experience tragedy in the same way. A family in one city may need immediate emotional support. Another may need help understanding where to turn next. Another may not want contact right away.
Because of that, the Foundation said it is taking a careful approach in Macon.
“We have learned that you cannot assume you know what a family needs just because you have responded somewhere else,” the Foundation said in its announcement. “Sometimes the best thing we can do is reach out, listen and ask.”
A reward is being offered for information
Along with family support, the Foundation is offering a reward of up to $5,000 for information that helps investigators identify those responsible for the shooting.
The Foundation said it will work with the appropriate authorities and will not interfere with the investigation.
That distinction matters. In active investigations, information needs to go through proper law enforcement channels. The Foundation said its role is to support victims and families, not to conduct an investigation or make public claims about responsibility.
The reward is intended to encourage useful information that can help investigators. Anyone who believes they may have relevant information should contact the appropriate law enforcement authorities.
The Foundation has also reached out directly to local law enforcement to offer assistance and to ask for the proper point of contact for supporting affected victims and families.
It emphasized that it is not asking law enforcement to provide private information about victims. If appropriate, the Foundation has asked that its offer of assistance and contact information be shared with families.
That approach protects privacy while still making support available.
The response is focused on listening and consent
In the hours and days after a shooting, families may be contacted by officials, reporters, neighbors, advocates and strangers who want to help. Even well-meaning outreach can feel overwhelming.
The Foundation said it has already made several attempts to reach affected families through publicly available and appropriate community channels. It also said it has been careful not to intrude on anyone’s privacy, especially while the investigation remains active.
That kind of restraint is part of trauma-informed support.
A trauma-informed response avoids pressure. It does not demand a public statement from families. It does not assume that immediate contact is welcome. It gives people options and lets them decide what help, if any, they want.
For families affected by violence, that can make a real difference.
Support may include:
A confidential conversation with someone trained in peer or crisis support
Help locating community resources
Guidance on where to turn after a traumatic incident
Support for people who feel overwhelmed, afraid or unsure what to do next
Continued contact if a family asks for it
The Foundation’s message is simple: help is available, and families can decide what they need.
The Youth Peace and Justice Foundation Launches Support After Macon Park Shooting with the stated goal of assisting victims and families while respecting the active investigation and the privacy of those affected.
Why peer support matters after community violence
A mass shooting or public shooting does not affect only those who are physically injured. It can affect siblings, parents, friends, classmates, neighbors, witnesses, first responders and people who simply felt safe in that place before the violence happened.
Peer support is not a replacement for medical care, counseling or law enforcement response. It is a bridge. It gives people a place to start when they do not know what to ask for.
After a traumatic event, people may struggle with sleep, fear, anger, numbness or repeated thoughts about what happened. Some may want to talk right away. Others may not want to speak for days or weeks. Both reactions can be normal.
The Foundation’s 24-hour availability is meant to meet people during those uncertain moments.
Not everyone affected by violence knows how to find help. Some people may avoid asking because they think their pain is not serious enough. Others may think support is only for those who were physically hurt.
The Foundation’s response recognizes a wider circle of impact. When violence happens in a public space, a community can carry the shock long after the scene is cleared.
The Foundation is asking the community to protect privacy
Public attention can grow quickly after a shooting, especially when teenagers are among the wounded. The Foundation’s announcement urges a careful balance: support families, help investigators when possible and avoid intruding on private grief.
That means not spreading rumors. It means not sharing unconfirmed names, photos or details. It means allowing families to speak, or not speak, on their own terms.
Privacy is especially important while an investigation is active. Families may be trying to understand what happened while also making decisions about care, safety and communication.
The Foundation said it will continue to work through appropriate channels and will not seek private victim information from law enforcement.
That standard helps ensure that support does not become another burden.
Community members who want to help can do so in practical ways:
Share official contact information from trusted sources
Encourage anyone with information to contact law enforcement
Avoid posting speculation online
Check on people who may have been nearby or emotionally affected
Respect requests for space, silence or privacy
Offer help without demanding details
Support after violence works best when it centers the people harmed, not the people offering help.
The Macon response is part of a broader mission
The Youth Peace & Justice Foundation was formed after one of the most painful school tragedies in recent American history. The Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde left families and a community facing deep loss, national attention and long-term trauma.
The Foundation’s work since then has included outreach to families and communities after shootings and other emergencies across the country.
That national experience does not mean every response looks the same. The Foundation said the opposite is true. Each community has its own leaders, needs and trusted networks. Each family has its own wishes.
In Macon, the Foundation said it is prepared to support victims and families while working respectfully with local authorities and community contacts.
Its role is not to replace local support systems. It is to add another available resource for people who may need help now, later or at any point in between.
That flexibility is important because trauma does not follow a public timeline. News coverage may slow. Official updates may become less frequent. But families may still be dealing with pain, uncertainty and fear.
The Foundation’s 24-hour availability gives affected people a way to reach out when they are ready.
How affected people can reach support
Anyone affected by the Carolyn Crayton Park shooting who needs someone to talk to or help finding resources can contact the Foundation online or call (254) 499-8027.
The Foundation’s peer-support and crisis-team members are available 24 hours a day.
People with information that may help investigators identify those responsible should contact the appropriate law enforcement authorities. The Foundation’s reward of up to $5,000 is tied to information that helps investigators in that effort.
The Foundation said it will coordinate with proper authorities and will not interfere with the investigation.
A careful path forward for families and the community
The shooting at Carolyn Crayton Park has left families facing pain that no public statement can fully answer. For the Youth Peace & Justice Foundation, the response begins with presence, restraint and care.
The Foundation is offering emergency support, a 24-hour contact point and a reward for information that can help investigators. It is also making clear that families deserve privacy while they decide what support they want.
In moments like this, help should not be loud or intrusive. It should be steady. It should be respectful. It should begin by listening.
Anyone affected who needs support can contact the Youth Peace & Justice Foundation online or call (254) 499-8027 at any time.
