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Bright spot illuminates rally

The event sought to speak out against violence. But despite bad weather, some connections are made.

ST. PETERSBURG - Threatening skies dampened attendance at a rally Saturday at Lake Maggiore, causing organizer Stephanie Brown to worry about funding for her effort to help stop violence in the city.

But on an upbeat note, Brown said the rally proved to be a "good meeting of the minds."

She said she was able to connect her re-entry program for people coming out of jail with a county employment training project and that she talked with members of Muhammad Mosque No. 95 about finding ways to end gun violence.

Meanwhile, Brown said she will work with community services lawyer Robin Rosenberg of the Holland and Knight firm to find grants that would help keep her nonprofit initiative working in a practical way.

It's called No Drugs, No Prison, Just Opportunity Community Services, and it operates out of a 1923 house where her great-grandparents used to live in the Wildwood Heights neighborhood.

Its purpose, Brown said, is to eliminate offender rates and drug use through employment and education.

"Help people to motivate themselves to a higher level of thinking, rather than sitting on the corner selling drugs," she said.

Brown's is among several relatively low-profile, antiviolence efforts that have emerged in the wake of recent gun deaths.