Planning to stop gun violence one step at a time, a Ball State alumnus is walking across America from Times Square in New York to the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Pastor Corey Brooks graduated in 1991 and later became the pastor at the New Beginnings Church in Chicago.
Before Brooks decided to walk across America, he stayed on the roof of a Chicago motel for 94 days. Brooks' goal was to raise $450,000 to buy the building and then demolish it.
Brooks said the building was "a dilapidated, torn, drug-infested, horrible place."
Producer, director and actor Tyler Perry donated $100,000 to help raise the money to demolish the motel.
"I was really grateful that he would think high enough and enough of us to give [money], and I was overwhelmed with joy," Brooks said.
On June 5, Brooks began walking from New York toward California with a team of seven other people. The goal is to raise $15 million to build a community economic development center in place of the old motel.
"Even if we don't raise all the money, it would at least bring more attention and awareness to the real problem, which is gun violence," Brooks said.
All funds gained from the walk will go toward Brook's Project H.O.O.D., which stands for Helping Others Obtain Destiny.
"I knew it would be hard to raise the money if I stayed local, so I decided to get as many people involved as I possibly could," Brooks said. "So I thought taking the message across America would only enhance what we're trying to do."
There are more than 3,900 miles that Brooks and his team want to walk, but to make sure they reach their Oct. 13 arrival date, they have given themselves 500 grace miles to drive.
"It's been a great experience," Brooks said. "I've met a lot of people who have not heard about what we're attempting to do. So being able to communicate the message to a lot of people - we've been very successful in that."
To cut back on costs, Brooks said an RV was donated for the first few months of the walk. People have also reached out to Brooks and his walkers by paying for rooms in hotels and even offering their own homes, Brooks added. People hear about the cause through social media.
Craig Nash, a walker alongside Brooks, is not a member of the New Beginnings Church but saw Brooks on TV while he was on the motel's roof. He said he knew it was something he wanted to be a part of and support.
"It's really affected my life," Nash said. "I grew up in a tough part of Chicago, and I was blessed to be able to avoid gun violence most of my life growing up, and then just one kind of situation after another hit me and I realized I had to do something."
Nash said he knows the effects of gun violence because of the effects it has had on loved ones.
Nash's younger brother currently has a bullet in his brain. He has also lost a niece, a brother-in-law and a couple of cousins due to gun violence. When he was on the walk with Brooks, he had to go home to officiate because his friend's 16-year-old nephew had been shot.
Nash said he wants to bring awareness to the gun violence in not only Chicago but also in the United States.
"Pastor Brooks has a vision from God to build a youth center that will be prototype that will hopefully be duplicated all around the country," he said. "It will keep students involved in positive activities and promote peace verses violence."
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