Anti-violence and community healing event in New Kensington urges citizens to 'get on board with love'

Parents, teachers, children, pastors and concerned citizens turned out Saturday afternoon at Valley High School auditorium in New Kensington to consider how the area’s recent spate of violence might be stopped.

The event was coordinated by former New Kensington- Arnold School District dean of students Henry “Hank” Commodore, who said he was moved to organize it in the wake of homicides in the region including the deaths of Brackenridge police Chief Justin McIntire, Jan. 2, McKeesport police Officer Sean Sluganski, Feb. 6, and 9-year-old Azuree Charles of New Kensington, who was killed in May 2022.

Prayers were offered by the more than 50 people who attended.

Commodore, founder of the nonprofit Help the Needy, Not the Greedy, invited community leaders including New Kensington Mayor Tom Guzzo and Brackenridge Mayor Lindsay Fraser.

“Show love to one another. Be kind to one another. Provide for the needy,” Guzzo said “Don’t ever be greedy. Respect everyone, including yourself. Respect and admire those who make sacrifices that make your world better and safer. Don’t be afraid to ask for support. And don’t be afraid to offer support if you are in a position to help.

“Those principles sound simple enough, but if you live by them, as Mr. Commodore has, you will have led a life that is rich and satisfying, a life with worth and dignity and honor.”

Fraser thanked everyone in the audience for the support she and the town of Brackenridge have received after the death of McIntire.

“As Mr. Commodore says, ‘you don’t fight violence with violence, you fight violence with love’ and our community, and it’s not just Brackenridge, has been traumatized by violence,” Fraser said. “It seems like such an insurmountable problem to take on, and it’s easy to feel helpless in the face of a tragedy like that, whether it’s sudden and public or ongoing and private. One of the ways forward is to take the things that we loved about Chief McIntire and then embody those things.”

Commodore urged the audience members to find it within themselves to forgive others, even those who have harmed them. “When you forgive, you feel so much better,” he said.

Commodore’s brother, Kirk, 29, was killed in 1994.

“It’s a big struggle. Anybody can be negative. But you have to be positive,” Commodore said. “We have to let the kids know that you have to have faith and listen to the Holy Spirit. God forgives us, and we mess up every day. I can’t pass judgement on anybody. You’ve got to be taught love. A lot of people don’t understand love because they’ve never been loved. That’s what we’ve got to instill in those kids. My message to kids is ‘get on board with love.’ ”

Commodore was wearing a T-shirt that was handed out to those entering the building that had the words “Get on Board with Love” on the front, “Stop the Violence with Wisdom” on the back and “All Lives Matter” on the sleeve.

Former Valley High School High School history teacher Larry Rowe of New Kensington had a message for parents in the audience.

“The key to stopping the violence is to get to the kids,” Rowe said. “The future of America and stopping violence is the kids. Before I feared God, I feared my parents. On my block, when I was a kid, there were no problems at all because we all had the right parents. To stop the violence in this America, you’ve got to get to the kids. Get them in church if you have to. You’ve got kids with 9 millimeter guns; you’ve got cameras on your front porch, cameras on your back porch; you’ve got crazy dogs. You’ve got all the defense in the world. You wouldn’t need anything if the kids were OK.”