Families and friends of those killed gathered at the State House Thursday, kicking off Crime Awareness Month to support communities affected by similar tragedies.

“Even in the memories that are painful, my hope continues,” said Beatriz Couho, the mother of Joel Leon, who was killed in South Boston in 2014 at the age of 19. … “I hope that your children and my children will find peace in our world and in our neighborhood.”

The 24th annual Homicide Survivor Awareness Month, organized in Massachusetts by the Louis D. Brown Institute of Peace and partner organizations, began Nov. 20 and was marked Thursday with a ceremony in the Great Hall of the State House . The ceremony featured two mothers who lost their sons to homicide, speakers from the Institute of Peace, the director of the Massachusetts Office of Victim Assistance, State Senator Nick Collins and State Representative Chris Worrell.

The initiative is dedicated to “educating the public and policymakers about the profound impact of homicide on families,” the institute states.

“This is an opportunity to unite, to be united together, to celebrate, to grieve,” said Alexandra Chery-Dorrelus, co-executive director of the Peace Institute, “and then also to use this month to educate policymakers about what our legislative priorities are and ensure we impact policies that positively impact homicide survivors.”

Among their policy goals, said the institute’s co-executive director, Rachel Rodrigues, they are looking to support additional bereavement leave for people who lose loved ones to homicide, noting that three days is not “realistic.”

Speakers from state agencies and the Legislature emphasized the toll of losing a loved one and the need for state support within the community, with Sen. Collins telling people gathered Thursday that “your voices are heard here.”

Across the state, organizations through the Massachusetts Survivors Network will host events during awareness month to allow people to come together and support.

Linda Smith, whose son Dreshaun Johnson was 23 when he was killed in Roslindale in 2022, said these events, her work helping other survivors and the scholarship funds she raises in her son’s name help her “turn the pain mine in power”.

“I see him in nature, in colors, in rainbows and in the world around me,” Smith said, remembering her son to the crowd Thursday. “He’s checking on me to see if I’m okay.”