Brooklyn DA’s office hosts 4th annual VOICE-Out

April 23, 2013 Kings County District Attorney's Office

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Kings County District Attorney Charles J. Hynes recently hosted his fourth annual Brooklyn Crime Victims Rights’ VOICE-Out, which recognizes the strength and celebrates the voices of Brooklyn residents whose lives have been impacted by violent crime.

The event, which took place at Brooklyn Borough Hall, provided attendees with information about valuable resources that are available to them.

“VOICE-Out is a deeply moving experience that is valuable not only to victims and witnesses, but also to those of us who are proudly committed to serving them,” said Hynes. “With all the incidents of gun violence that we’ve seen in the news recently and with government leaders speaking out about gun control, this event highlights the growing problem of gun violence and reinforces the need for action to be taken immediately.”

During the VOICE-Out celebration, victims tell their stories, hoping that their experiences can help others. Three of this year’s survivors who testified about their experiences are Robin Lyde, Yvette Bell and Diana Carnival.

Lyde’s son, Benny Lyde, was a 21-year-old student who was gunned down in front of his home on Labor Day weekend 2005. Since Benny’s death, Robin Lyde has engaged the community in an ongoing discussion about the devastating impact of gun violence and worked to have the street where Benny lived, Lincoln Place between New York and Brooklyn avenues, named in his honor.

A bullet hit Bell’s daughter, Nyree Stevens-Credle, 19, after leaving a nightclub on Christmas night 2009, leaving her paralyzed from the neck down. Bell and her daughter Nyree have made great strides on the path to physical and emotional healing.

Carnival’s husband, Robert Carnival, was the owner-operator of a successful car dealership on Utica Avenue. He was mortally wounded in 2008 after being struck by a bullet during a robbery. Carnival still stays in touch with the Kings County District Attorney’s staff, who supported her during the prosecution of her husband’s killers. She has now assumed her own role as a support system and mentor to other women who have lost loved ones to violence.

“In light of the events that took place in Sandy Hook earlier this year and last week’s tragedy in Boston, the messages from our speakers about healing after violence, is a valuable one for all of us and the community members that we serve,” Hynes noted.

This year’s event included musical performances by members of the New York/Keystone State Boychoir and the “Voices of VOICE-Out” choir, dance performances by members of Brooklyn’s Full Force Dance Repertory.

At the conclusion of the event, the names of those individuals who have lost their lives to gun violence in Brooklyn in 2013 were read.