As summer approaches, and with the city once again on pace to record more than 500 homicides this year, officials must act now to stem the possibility of bloodshed later.

Groups are looking to fund youth summer programs with a whatever-it-takes urgency that is still lacking from officials in a city buckling under an unrelenting string of shootings.

A jolting reminder of what grief and pain and loss really feel like.

Victims, who are left to navigate life-changing injuries, emotional trauma, and steep financial burdens are mostly on their own.