Group renames Omaha street in support of those who lost loved ones to violence

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - It’s a gesture of hope and assurance that those unjustly killed are not forgotten.

Around noon Saturday, the group Families of the Stolen unveiled the new name of Ames Avenue near Florence Boulevard. It’s now Families of the Stolen Avenue.

The group supports families who lost loved ones to homicide. CEO Buffy Bush said the violence doesn’t stop, but that this street sign renaming is a beacon that can outshine the violence.

Bush said she picked that spot specifically because it’s near the building where her sister, Jameila Hesseltine, was killed in 2011.

“For me, this street, it represents so much,” she said. “It represents pain, it represents healing, it represents... everything that I have gone through for the past 13 years began at this street and that building.”

Bush said this was a project six months in the making, going through the city approval process. She said she paid $167 for it.

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