MILWAUKEE (CBS58) -- On Saturday, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and community groups demanded an end to gun violence. June is Gun Violence Awareness Month, and on Saturday’s “Wear Orange Weekend” there were resounding calls to end the gun violence epidemic plaguing Milwaukee and the nation.

"Enough is enough," said Mayor Johnson, as he proclaimed this weekend "Gun Violence Awareness Day".

"Milwaukee has had enough. Enough of the trauma, enough of the silence, enough of losing one another too soon,” shared Bridget Robinson-Whitaker, executive director of Safe & Sound.

708 flags were placed on Safe & Sound's lawn to symbolize the lives lost in Wisconsin each year due to gun violence. That includes two deadly shootings from Friday, just minutes and blocks from each other. Mayor Johnson spoke about the tragedy, saying, “unfortunately, we've seen a spate of gun violence as of late in Milwaukee, including just yesterday along West Hampton Avenue, where people unfortunately lost their lives because some folks decided to be irresponsible with guns... that is totally totally unacceptable."

According to the Milwaukee Police Department, homicides are up 15% from last year. Mayor Johnson says “change is not beyond us, change is something that all of us can accomplish if we stand behind a common cause” to end gun violence.

"It affects what happens in our community. Their lives could be changed forever. Worse, they could change somebody else's lives forever,” continued Mayor Johnson.

Those lives impacted include London Knight, who witnessed the aftermath of a shooting on Christmas Day that left Milwaukee teenagers Exziel Rivera and Nayah Vasquez dead. Now Knight is demanding change: "I will not let their names fade into silence. I will carry them into every room where decisions are made and change in space is possible. Exziel and Nayah were more than victims, they were vibrant lives full of hope stolen by a system that failed to protect them."

The teenager is turning the tragedy into a force that can hopefully prevent this from happening to anyone else: "I will channel my grief into action, my fear into purpose and my voice into a force that demands a safer future. Honoring their memories means more than just doing everything in my power so no family wakes up on Christmas or any other day to lose. Change starts here and it starts with us.”

Safe & Sound alongside other community organizations provided resources for gun violence victims, and the community. A resource fair was held from 9AM to 12PM, and a free survivors healing workshop went from 1PM to 3PM.

Gun locks are free and available to anybody who wants them, available to be picked up at Milwaukee's Office of Community Wellness and Safety located at Northwest Health Center: 7630 W Mill Rd, Milwaukee.