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What does a mother do after her son has been shot to death in the street? What should a sister do after her brother has been fatally shot at his own front door?

Those questions confront North Side residents Jacqueline Williams, whose son, Kevin D. Coates, died on July 20, and Verneatha James, whose brother, Clayton James, died Aug. 3.

They're questions Adrienne Young already has faced, and Friday she put her arms around Williams and James during a news conference to announce a new violence prevention initiative on the North Side. It's a multi-pronged effort to reduce gun violence through community support and religious faith, supported by area churches, activists, and law enforcement.

"I hope we can get some help in our community to stop the killing," said Williams. She struggled against tears and wore a t-shirt printed with an image of Coates. "I miss my son."

The initiative will be launched with a rally, called Taking Him 2 the Streets 2, on Saturday, Sept. 21, from 3 to 6 p.m. in West Park.

A force behind the initiative is Young, executive director of Tree of Hope, a charitable organization that helps families of murder victims. Young formed the organization after her son, Javon Thompson, was shot to death in 1995. Also supporting the new initiative are the Allegheny Center Alliance Church, the Pentecostal Temple COGIC, Mt. Ararat Baptist Church and Pennsylvanians Against Handgun Violence.

Young said yesterday that the best way to prevent violence is to offer alternatives. "They don't have to wait until they're facing a life sentence, until their family finds they've been murdered in the streets, until they're maimed or paralyzed by violence to wake up."

To accomplish that goal, she and others said, it's not enough to wait for troubled people to ask for help.

"I'm a part of this fight," said Deacon Thomas Holland, who worships at Mt. Ararat Baptist Church. "We can make an impact if we project the love of God back into the streets. We spend too much time in the four walls on Sunday morning."

Nathaniel Glosser, executive director of Pennsylvanians Against Handgun Violence, advocates forming a neighborhood coalition, intervening in conflicts, assembling a team for rapid response to shootings, offering safe havens for at-risk people and pushing to penalize and prosecute the guilty.

Yesterday's announcement came as City Councilwoman Barbara Burns has introduced a proposal to prohibit gun sales on the North Shore. Groups opposed to gun control say that restricting firearms sales doesn't always lower gun crimes. For instance, the National Rifle Association said Washington, D.C.'s ban on handgun sales took effect in 1977 — and the city's homicide rate tripled by the 1990s.

But the pros and cons of gun control weren't of central concern to yesterday's speakers on the North Side. Rather, they focused on preventing violence by reaching potential offenders before it's too late.

That's the best way Verneatha James can channel her grief over the loss of her brother into something productive. She's working in her church and neighborhood to befriend kids who seem to be headed for the streets. "Above all, people need to know they're loved."

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