Lauryn Lewis Capstone

For my capstone project, I decided to create a project that was very dear to me. I created Krochet Kare Packages which is a project to help families heal from gun violence in the city of Philadelphia. I personally crocheted different items ranging from clothes to blankets and packaged them with motivational messages to uplift the different people/families who had been affected by gun violence. The reason that I chose to start this project was because I began to realize the lack of mental health support that people of color in Philadelphia received. I knew that I had to specify who exactly I wanted to reach out to. After reading ‘Rest In Power’, the memoir from the parents of Trayvon Martin, I decided that I should tackle a big issue, gun violence. After deciding this, I reached out to people around me who had been strongly affected by gun violence. By doing so, I was able to hear the stories of all the individuals and learn about the toll that such a traumatizing event can have on one’s mind. After hearing the stories of everyone who I planned to work with, i personalized crochet care packages for each victim. The point of the handmade crocheted items was to let those individuals know that they were not alone and to give them something that would comfort them in times of pain and or grief.


Annotated Bibliography


AVPPhila. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2019, from http://avpphila.org/families-of-murder-victims-fmv/

AVP stands for the Anti-Violence Partnership of Philadelphia. They offer people who have lost loved ones violently counseling sessions as well as group therapy. All the services there are free because they know that a lot of people in Philly are under  ;privledged and can not afford to pay for full price services to help them cope with death. A lot of the people who organize the different sessions have personally dealt with the issues that they all are coming to get help with. Aside from helping the families of the victims with counseling they also try to help them get the people locked up for the crimes. This is a big help considering a lot of cases go unsolved.


Coping in the Aftermath of a Shooting. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2019, from https://www.counseling.org/knowledge-center/coping-in-the-aftermath-of-a-shooting

Coping with a shooting surrounds almost the same things as coping with a death. Sometimes shootings even sadly end in death. It is understandable for some to want to isolate themselves from things especially like the news and other media that may be heavily discussing the incident. This can sometimes cause panic attacks and unneeded anxiety. This is really called post traumatic stress disorder which happens to some who experience traumatic events that leave a long lasting impact on them. This happens commonly in urban neighborhoods but is rarely treated. When this happens, people can turn to reacting to those events randomly because they are triggered.



Coping with Loss: Bereavement and Grief. (2015, May 01). Retrieved January 25, 2019, from http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/conditions/coping-loss-bereavement-and-grief

This source talks more about how to deal with the death of a loved one compared to others that just talked about what happens when you a loved one dies. One major thing to do is to take care of yourself and not deprive yourself of essential things that help you survive and keep you happy. In a time of such disappointment, it makes sense to try and normalize things instead of trying to become a totally different person. Building with other people dealing with the same issue will also help the both of you cope better and share common experiences.



Crochet Therapy for Mental Health • LoveCrochet Blog. (2017, May 08). Retrieved January 25, 2019, from https://blog.lovecrochet.com/crochet-and-mental-health/

Crocheting is used as a therapy for many because of how it soothes. Different yarns have different textures which come as a healing and comfortable place for people away from their home (comfort space). Crocheting allows people to get their feelings out through the project that they are working on. Whether it be anger or even love, it allows you to express yourself when you are silenced by things that hurt you. The sensation that you get from crocheting, can heal physical pains because mentally you will be at peace and not be able to feel anything.



Crocheting For A Cause. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2019, from http://thecrochetcrowd.com/placemarks/crocheting-for-a-cause/

This is a organization that does something similar to what I will do. They crochet different things for people who are usually sick or veterans and give them to them for comfort. I will be doing that but instead to a more specified crowd. They are located in Jersey and do not do any of the work for money. Everything that they do is free and from the bottom of their heart. Throughout the year, who they crochet for tends to vary because they like reaching out to certain groups and giving each of them an allotted dedication.





Family & Survivor Support. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2019, from https://momocares.org/familysurvivor-support/

This service is based in North Carolina and provides some of the same services that a lot of therapist do. A lot of the services include planning memorial events such as funerals and candlelights to bring light to the people that lose their lives. This helps families feel sane because they feel like their family members do not die in vain. They want the legacies to live on and for people to especially know if the cases have not been solved and people are not paying for their ruthless actions. If the person who was killed is the only one that they had left, it gives them a chance to rebuild their family value now that a loved one is gone.


Grief & Depression Coping With Denial, Loss, Anger and More. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2019, from https://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/depression-grief#1

This source talks about the process of grief and how each person may deal with it differently. Usually when you are dealing with grief there are different stages of how you accept it as well as deny it. You can lose feeling over a sensation of shock and even act as if it hasn’t happened. With this comes wishing that you may have spent more time with the person or even was there to prevent what happened. Some people even never recover from death and begin to fall into depression which can lead to suicide.


Health Benefits of Crocheting and Knitting. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2019, from http://www.redheart.com/articles/health-benefits-of-crocheting-and-knitting

Crocheting helps with both long term and short term health. With crocheting comes following different patterns and motions which help with memory when it comes to getting down a routine. Physically it strengthens your hands and teaches them to have structure when it comes to other hand moving techniques. Crocheting is something that is done everywhere and even in correctional facilities to help prisoners build bonds and also social skills. In addition to this, and knowledge from the previous information that I have collected, crocheting can be obviously seen as a way to heal and even the handmade items that are made can heal.





Johnson, P. (2018, February 06). Philly organization Erase the Rate addresses gun violence by empowering the community. Retrieved January 25, 2019, from https://billypenn.com/2018/02/06/philly-nonprofit-erase-the-rate-addresses-gun-violence-by-empowering-the-community/

This source talks about a young lady who had hopes to end gun violence following the death of her cousin. She created a foundation called “Erase the Rate” to try to educate people about how the death rate in Philadelphia is increasing because of senseless violence that people participate in. The sad thing about this is that people are being murdered and their murderers most of the time remain on the loose. By remaining on the loose, their is a high chance that they will strike again and senselessly murder another victim in the city. It also mentions how urban children are usually told to be strong because they can handle anything instead of actually getting help and dealing with the things that eventually haunt them.


Our Founder. (n.d.). Retrieved January 25, 2019, from https://www.mothersincharge.org/our-founder/

This source is about the founder of a local organization that works to stop violence in Philadelphia. It tells the story of how she chose to start her foundation after the tragic lost of her son to gun violence in a parking lot. Aside from using her terrifying experience to help start the foundation, she uses her background in Psychology to help people cope. She reaches out to people around the country as well and educates them regarding resources they can use to help them deal with losing a loved one. Dr. Dorothy makes sure that everyone involved is remembered and upholds a legacy.







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