Gun buyback, neighbors pray as a(n) (American) city yearns for peace

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http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100117/NEWS/1170336
CITY OF NEWBURGH — Reeling from violent spats, bloody killings and the mystery of a missing boy, Newburgh took a few steps toward peace and healing Saturday.

It started at the Activity Center on Washington Street, where a team of chaplains and police accepted guns off the street in exchange for grocery gift cards. A total of 19 guns, including four handguns and 15 hunting-style rifles, were collected.

Jesse Howard, the chaplain who led the effort, said his group, Chaplain Crisis Response Ministries, wanted to set up an outdoor collection depot at the corner of Broadway and Grand Street, near some of Newburgh's most violent neighborhoods. But county and city politicians, Howard said, wanted a more neutral site.

"There's a lot of hurt in this community," said Juanita Purdie, one of the ministry volunteers. "We've got to get these guns of the street; otherwise it will be nothing but pain."