PETERSBURG, Va. — A Petersburg apartment complex has seen tragedy hit its front doorstep several times this year.
Outside of Artist Space Lofts on Perry Street, there's a mural and makeshift memorial for 19-year-old Toni Knight, who was shot and killed outside the complex in a triple shooting in July.
Earlier in December, a woman was killed and man was injured in two different crimes at the apartment complex.
But Thursday night, residents who are part of the complex's artist residency program came together to offer a "paint and heal" session, hoping to change the way the community views their home.
"There's a lot going on," said Eanjae Underwood, who helped paint the mural of Knight. "When you can really engage with the art, you can kind of feel the energy of what's around you. What's going on."
What has been going on around the complex, some residents said, has left them traumatized.
"We need to come together. We do. It's important that we lean on each other. I need to know my neighbor, you know," said Tyasia Williams.
"What I can develop and share can be healing for somebody else," said William Demps, an artist and author living at the complex. "So it's as much as therapy as it is sharing."
Artists told CBS 6 they're planning on speaking with their apartment complex and city leaders about offering mental health services to those living in the apartment complex, many of whom witnessed tragedy where they live and work.
"There's a lot of grieving with everything going. But let's grieve healthily. Mental health is really important, and it's like, we're just lacking it right now. So let's come together and make it better. Even if it's just a little paint," Williams said.
