Coalition Poz looks to end gun violence in northeastern Montreal

Coalition Poz. That's the name of a new group against gun violence which brings together community organizations from Montral-Nord, Rivire-des-Prairies and nearby neighbourhoods.

Poz is a Creole word meaning "take it easy" or "calm down" and that's the message the coalition is sending to young people in the wake of an increase in shootings in Montreal.

But the coalition also has a message for the people in power the politicians who run the boroughs: give community organizations a seat at the table.

"The funding that comes along with what's going on with the problems the drama and the trauma needed to be handled by people who understand the field, people who understand the community,"saidRito Joseph, member of Coalition Poz, from Saint-Michel.

"I'm terribly scared of the triggers that actually push these little boys that I grew up with in class,we went to kindergarten together becoming an actual gunman," said Shana Riboul, a 17-year-old from Rivire-des-Prairies.

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