Event for slain Toronto teen raises money for youth initiatives Family, friends and community supporters gathered Saturday at a barbecue fundraiser for youth initiatives in the Jane and Finch community in memory of slain teenager Tahj Loor-Walters. Mr. Loor-Walters" aunt, Eliana Conte, came up with the idea with her father Victor Loor. Mr. Loor is a member of the local Unifor union, which supported the idea and held the event in the parking lot of its North York union hall, not far from Jane and Finch. The event featured a jumping castle, face-painting and games for children, along with food and music for $10 a ticket, or $5 for kids. "I wanted everything to be positive, celebrate [Mr. Loor-Walters"] life, celebrate who he was, have all the good memories and try to make that console us a little bit," Ms. Conte said. The 15-year-old Mr. Loor-Walters was gunned down in July after he approached a car in the Yorkwoods Plaza parking lot. He died in hospital two weeks later. "He was a very loving, caring person," Ms. Conte said. He'd come give you a hug for no reason. Mr. Loor-Walters was the second of four teenagers shot and killed in the area this year. Kwame Duodu, 15, and 16-year-old O'She Doyles-Whyte were killed outside a town house complex in August and 15-year-old St. Aubyn Rodney was killed in February. Proceeds from the barbecue, organized in part by Mr. Loor-Walters" family, Unifor Local 112 and city councillors Maria Augimeri and Anthony Perruzza, will go to organizations that will be selected later based on suggestions from attendees through a sign-up sheet. The sheet asked them which areas they believe need the most work in the community, such as education, parental programs and after-school activities. Ms. Conte said residents of the Jane and Finch community feel unsafe and believe they need to move away. "We want to make improvements so that they can still stay in the neighbourhood they are in," she said. They love the neighbourhood, they love the people. It just has a bad rep with it so we want to change that. We want people to feel safe again. Councillor Augimeri was less optimistic in a speech she made at the barbecue, emphasizing the need for social programs that engage young people. "This is an ongoing tragedy which will be repeated because you don't have in place something that replaces gangs," she said, adding that gangs provide a sense of belonging to many teenagers. "There's an inherent racism and classism in our society perpetrated by the federal and provincial governments, mostly, that will not throw money into these communities," she said in an interview. Because these communities aren't considered worth it, and that's wrong to the point of being criminal. Still, Ms. Augimeri praised the family and Unifor for their fundraising efforts and support in the wake of violence. "Events like this are half heart-breaking and half heart-making," she said. People become emboldened to take stands publicly.