HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — A Connecticut gun violence prevention group is making plans to put a new $500,000 grant to good use.

The grant will be used to help families like Marvella Williams’, who lost her 17-year-old son, Karlonzo Taylor, in December 2018 after William Moore shot him to death on Park Street in Hartford.

“It was too hard, too difficult to even process,” Williams said.

Moore was sentenced on Tuesday to 25 years in prison and 10 years of probation.  

Williams said Mothers United Against Violence has supported her.

“As a parent losing a child, you just don’t know what to do,” she said. “You just don’t know what to say. You just know how to react. So, of course, it really took a toll on our family.”  

Members of the organization rallied outside the U.S. Capitol last week, calling for action to prevent gun violence. 

The new funding comes nearly two weeks after 12-year-old Se’cret Pierce was shot and killed on Huntington Street in Hartford. 

“This is another devastating loss to our community,” said Rev. Henry Brown, founder of Mothers United Against Violence. “We had a 3-year-old [killed] a year ago, and now we have a 12-year-old. Our constant theme is to find resolution to how to end this violence.”  

That resolution includes providing resources and programs to victims’ families. 

“We do not want to live in the community for the rest of our lives dealing with the same issue year after year after year, day after day,” said Deborah Davis, of Mothers United Against Violence. 

The group also creates youth activities to prevent retaliation within communities. 

“That’s the key, and [communities] do have alternatives than just looking for something to do,” Davis said.

With help, the hope is that more families do not face the pain of losing a loved one. 

“Thank you for the support from the Mothers United Against Violence,” Williams said. “They’ve been there for me all this time.”