HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) -- A Philadelphia organization is remembering victims of gun violence through artwork. The group pairs artists with victims' families to create a portrait of their loved ones.
Some of these portraits have been hanging in the Capitol building for the whole month of March. For one family who lost their son in Harrisburg, it is a way to remember his life.
"When I first saw this portrait, I just, I cried," Maxayn Gooden, the mother of gun violence victim Jahsun Patton, said.
When Gooden looks at the portrait of her son hanging in the East Rotunda, she sees the best parts of his life.
"He played drums, he played football, he acted in the school plays, very handsome as you can see," she said.
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The reason behind the portrait, however, is a tragedy.
"My son was murdered," Gooden said.
Her son JahSun Patton was shot and killed in November 2017 while visiting his sister in Harrisburg. He was 18 and a senior in high school.
"They were celebrating him getting into numerous colleges," Gooden said. "Took away all of the hopes and dreams."
Gooden was in Philadelphia, where she and JahSun lived, when she found out what happened.
"The detective was there and was like, 'I think we have your son because his phone keeps ringing, and it's saying Mom,'" she said.
Grieving, Gooden reached out to Laura Madeleine, executive director of the Souls Shot Portrait Project.
"Art blazes a special trail to hearts and minds," Madeleine said of the project.
Madeleine started it six years ago, pairing artists with families and friends who have lost loved ones to gun violence. The project has created more than 150 portraits in the process.
"She captured him perfectly because as you can see, his smile, his eyes, he was that ray of sun," Gooden said of her son's portrait.
For her, honoring her son like this means the world.
"Every time I look at it, it's like he's right here, he's smiling at me," she said.
However, Gooden said the overall message is bigger than just her story.
"This is a complicated problem, but we can't ever stop looking for solutions. Our goal is to have viewers of these portraits take action," Madeleine said.
Gooden said, "I'm hoping one day we won't have to do these portraits."
Madeleine said right now, her project is mainly focused in Philadelphia, but she's working on expanding throughout Central Pennsylvania to tell more families' stories.
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