On May 16, 2022, 11-year-old Kyhara Tay was shot and killed after leaving her school in the Bronx.

Mother Yahsha Gomez says she is still reeling with the loss.

"There's still a lot that we go through on a daily basis. It's hard to get up. It's hard to sleep. We're still going through it," Gomez said.

Gomez and her family attended the Bronx 2023 Tribute to Crime Victims event on Tuesday night. Bronx residents impacted by gun violence shared their stories of heartbreak and survival.

"It was important to us to meet other families that are going through the same thing we're going through," Gomez said. "Support each other and just be there."

The event, which coincides with National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, was held by Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark.

She says her office is cracking down on serious crime while also offering support to victims and their families.

"We are here to help them through their pain and help them turn their pain into purpose," Clark said. "When you're talking about violence against children, against seniors, domestic violence, gun violence, we have pretty strict laws already and I use them each and every day as a tool to hold accountable the people who bring harm to those victims."

Two teenagers were arrested and charged last year in connection with Tay’s death. But her mother says more needs to be done to combat crime in the Bronx.

"To me, the Bronx doesn't feel safe," Gomez said. "I'm sure Queens and Brooklyn is the same. It's just sad that we're raising our kids in a neighborhood where we're not safe, so our kids are not safe."

As the one year anniversary of her daughter's death approaches, Gomez says Tay's memory will live on forever.

"Happy, outgoing. She was like life," Gomez said. "Now that she's not with us, I try to symbolize her. She's our lion. She's our butterfly."