BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — Community members honored the life of two-year-old Nevaeh Allen with a balloon release and candlelight vigil.
“I couldn’t even sleep [well] because it hurts my heart,” said Kim Crockett, who lives down the street from where Allen lived.
Crockett is a grandmother. She says you don’t have to know Nevaeh to feel the sadness.
“I was just crying for the baby and the family,” she said.
Dozens released pink and purple balloons while saying a prayer for the baby girl. A candlelight vigil was held in front of the doorsteps of Allen’s apartment complex.
Sharon Kinchen, a community member, said a loss like this affects both the adults and the children in the community.
“They probably used to play with her. They still don’t understand what’s going on because they’re still babies themselves,” she said.
Multiple vigils will be taking place the weekend of Oct. 2-3 and a GoFundMe has been created to help the family cover funeral costs.