Some seek to swap ad hoc victim shrines for lasting tributes

In this Aug. 27, 2015 photo, Jamel Russel, 17, looks at a memorial for his friend Breanna Eskridge, who was gunned down on her grandmother's front porch in Milwaukee. Community activists and city officials across the U.S. grapple with whether, or when, to remove tributes to victims of gun violence. In Milwaukee, victims' advocates are leading a push to establish publicly funded individual tributes to replace makeshift shrines. (AP Photo/Greg Moore) In this Aug. 27, 2015 photo, Jamel Russel, 17, looks at a memorial for his friend Breanna Eskridge, who was gunned down on her grandmother's front porch in Milwaukee. Community activists and city officials across the U.S. grapple with whether, or when, to remove tributes to victims of gun violence. In Milwaukee, victims' advocates are leading a push to establish publicly funded individual tributes to replace makeshift shrines. (AP Photo/Greg Moore)

By Associated Press October 12, 2015 1 min read

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Teddy bear shrines and other makeshift memorials to violent crime victims are part of the landscape in tough neighborhoods across the United States.

They symbolize a complex knot of emotions that community activists and city officials must navigate as they grapple with whether to remove them.

To some, they’re eyesores. To others, they’re an important part of mourning.

In Milwaukee, victims’ advocates are leading a push to make these ad hoc memorials into something more lasting. They want publicly-funded individual tributes to replace the temporary displays.

Collective tributes to victims of gun violence are fairly common around the nation, but Rhonda Barner, who has worked as a survivors’ advocate for decades, said she knows of no city that does what Milwaukee is considering by honoring homicide victims with individual memorials.