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After losing their daughter to a mass shooting, a family brings a message of hope to Buffalo

Sandy and Lonnie Phillips in the WBFO studios.
Jay Moran
/
WBFO News
Sandy and Lonnie discussed their visit to Buffalo before heading off to another mass shooting in Texas.

Sandy and Lonnie Phillips lost their daughter Jessica during a mass shooting at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. They've processed their grief by creating Survivors Empowered. They sold their home, bought an RV and became, in their words, "nomads."

But they are nomads with a mission to help families recover from the loss of loved ones to mass shootings.

"This is our 19th public mass shooting that we've responded to," Sandy Phillips said during their visit to Buffalo.

"We just said we've got to go. You know, we can't ignore that 10 people have been killed at a supermarket. So we packed up and here we are."

They weren't here for long. They had to leave the RV at a local campground and fly to Texas to be with those suffering in Uvalde. A quick response time is vital, they said.

"That will be number 20."

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Jay joined Buffalo Toronto Public Media in 2008 and has been local host for NPR's "Morning Edition" ever since. In June, 2022, he was named one of the co-hosts of WBFO's "Buffalo, What's Next."

A graduate of St. Mary's of the Lake School, St. Francis High School and Buffalo State College, Jay has worked most of his professional career in Buffalo. Outside of public media, he continues in longstanding roles as the public address announcer for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League and as play-by-play voice of Canisius College basketball.