Valentine’s Day is often associated with romance and celebration. For a St. Louis nonprofit focused on peace and public safety, it has also become a day of remembrance.
On Saturday, the Peace Economy Project will hold its annual Valentine’s Day Vigil Against Gun Violence, bringing together survivors, advocates, faith leaders and community members to honor people lost to gun violence and reflect on its impact across the region.
The event, scheduled for noon at the Deaconess Foundation on North Vandeventer Avenue, is intended as both a memorial and a call for reflection on how violence shapes daily life in many communities, organizers said.
“Gun violence leaves lasting impacts on individuals, families and entire communities,” said Katerina Canyon, executive director of the Peace Economy Project. “Because Valentine’s Day is seen as a day of love, we wanted to respond to violence with peace.”
Participants will be invited to write Valentine’s cards to people in their lives who have been affected by gun violence. Those cards will later be sent to elected officials, Canyon said, as a way of linking personal loss to public decision-making.
The Peace Economy Project, formally known as the St. Louis Economic Conversion Project, was founded in 2002. The organization advocates for shifting public investment away from militarized responses to violence and toward community-based approaches that emphasize economic stability, health care, housing and social services.
Organizers say the vigil also reflects broader concerns about what they describe as the increasing militarization of domestic life, including the expanded use of military equipment, tactics and surveillance by law enforcement and federal agencies.
In a recent press release, the group pointed to examples such as armored vehicles in neighborhoods, the transfer of surplus military equipment to police departments and aggressive crowd-control tactics during protests.
Canyon said those practices can deepen mistrust between residents and public institutions and disproportionately affect communities of color, immigrants and low-income neighborhoods.
The Valentine’s Day campaign, she noted, began in 2020, following the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.
“At that time, people were angry and hurting,” Canyon said. “My response was that we needed to find ways to respond to hate with love, not escalate the harm.”
This year’s vigil will include remarks from St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore, along with clergy and representatives from organizations that work with crime victims and survivors of violence, including Unsung Angels, ALIVE (Alternatives to Living in Violent Environments) and the Crime Victim Center.
The event will also mark the first time the organization has formally collected written accounts from participants about their personal losses to gun violence, which PEP plans to share with lawmakers selected by those who attend.
Canyon said the vigil is intentionally designed to be reflective and nonpartisan, even as the organization continues to advocate for policy changes, including stronger gun safety laws, expanded domestic violence protections and greater investment in community-based services.
Recent public opinion polls suggest growing skepticism about aggressive enforcement tactics by federal immigration authorities and law enforcement agencies, a trend Canyon said is reflected in increased interest in the group’s work.
“I’ve heard from a lot of people who want to volunteer or get involved,” she said. “That tells me people are questioning whether the current approach is really keeping communities safe.”
For organizers, the vigil is less about offering solutions than creating space — for grief, for reflection and for community.
“If we slow down and think about how we show care for one another,” Canyon said, “that changes how we respond to violence in our communities.”
For more information about the Valentine’s Day vigil or other Peace Economy Project activities, visit peaceeconomyproject.org.
Sylvester Brown Jr. is the Deaconess Foundation Community Advocacy Fellow.