The impact of gun violence in Jackson is being felt long after police tape comes down and investigations begin.

Westhaven Memorial Funeral Home said it has buried roughly 20 to 25 young people this year following homicides, with victims ranging in age from as young as 2 years old to 23.

Kaleb Rhodes, assistant manager at Westhaven Memorial Funeral Home, said the number of young homicide victims is concerning, especially considering the year is not over.

“We’re just one funeral home. So for us to be at in our 20s in August and we still have the rest of the year to go, that’s pretty high,” Rhodes said.

Rhods said the funeral home is preparing to help two more families who lost loved ones to homicide this weekend.

“Even this weekend coming up, we have to stand alongside of two families who lost their loved ones to homicides here in the city of Jackson,” he said.

Westhaven has also handled funerals connected to some of Jackson’s most heartbreaking cases, including a triple homicide that claimed the lives of the Wethersby sisters and the 2-year-old son of one of the sisters.

Rhodes said helping a family through a multiple-homicide case is different from the typical funeral process.

“It was a very different and unique process because traditionally we’re dealing with one loved one. This instance, we were dealing with three individuals at one time who lost their lives due to a homicide in our city,” Rhodes said.

While funeral homes help families through the final goodbye, Rhodes said those families are often left with a financial and emotional burden they were not prepared to carry.

“The families are left with the burden to bury their loved ones and a lot of these families are not prepared for that,” he said.

Dr. Valerie McKnight, founder of I’ll Go Outreach Missions International, works with young people and has been involved in efforts to address gun violence in the community.

McKnight said she believes part of the solution involves returning to basic moral values and strengthening communities.

“And I think that is what happened in these communities. We strayed away from the basics of good moral ethics and values. Once we go back to that, I think that it will make the world a better place as well as our communities,” McKnight said.

McKnight plans to bring that message to the community through a prayer vigil scheduled for Aug. 29 at 5 p.m. at L’il Go Outreach Missions International’s facility in Clinton.

For families at Westhaven Memorial Funeral Home, the continued funerals serve as a reminder that the impact of Jackson’s gun violence extends far beyond the crime scene, affecting families and communities for years to come.