More than 200 people who have lost family or friends to homicide are in Orlando this weekend for the 30th annual Parents of Murdered Children Conference.
- Conference runs through Sunday
- Event offers workshops, guest speakers
- Hosted by the National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children
The conference started Thursday at the Sheraton Lake Buena Vista Resort and wraps up Sunday afternoon.
The conference is specifically geared to help families and friends of people lost to violence. Members of the organization come together at the conference to listen to motivational speakers, to attend workshops, and to interact with one another as a means of support.
Attendees can also participate in a memorial service, and submit a photo and information about a lost loved one to be included in the "Murder Wall," a picture wall displayed throughout the run of the conference.
This year's picture wall has just under 4,000 names of homicide victims.
"Everyone here understands it could be 16 years or 1 year -- it's still the same, it's still pain," says Carolyn Longstreet a surviving sibling. Longstreet says her sister was murdered at a Florida mall in 2000.
Among this year's guest speakers at the conference was Orange County Sheriff Jerry Demings. Demings spoke to open the conference, and in his remarks talked about the tragedy at Pulse nightclub in June.
"Forty-nine innocent people died on that morning," said Demings. "A lot of parents from that event join you, an organization of individuals who no one in their right mind wants to meet the qualifications to join."
For more information on the conference and the National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children, visit their website at www.pomc.com.