Kids & Family

Family Of Pembroke Shooting Victims Raising Money For St. Gianna’s Place In Londonderry

A GoFundMe effort to honor Julia and Blake Byrne was started for the org. It provides shelter for homeless pregnant women and their babies.

Police, troopers, and fire and rescue teams from around the capital region were sent to Pembroke Hill Road in Pembroke on May 9 for a report of a double shooting.
Police, troopers, and fire and rescue teams from around the capital region were sent to Pembroke Hill Road in Pembroke on May 9 for a report of a double shooting. (News 603)

PEMBROKE, NH — A GoFundMe effort has been started for a safe haven organization for homeless pregnant women and their babies, in memory of the mother and child who were killed in Pembroke this week.

The Byrne family started the fundraising drive two days ago for St. Gianna’s Place in Londonderry, in honor of Julia Byrne and her son, Blake Byrne. Blake, who was 3, was killed early Friday morning. Julia, 23, died due to a gunshot wound, but a ruling is still pending in the investigation.

Liam Magan, the fundraiser organizer, called Julia “a loving mother, a caring sister, a beloved daughter, and a talented woman who is gone too soon.” He said her son “was a happy and snuggly little boy who always had a smile on his face.” The effort had raised $4,400 at publication time. St. Gianna’s Place provides shelter for women having children who are in crisis. The nonprofit also provides job and life skills training and emotional support.

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“Our vision,” the org stated online, “is to promote healthy families by providing expectant moms with resources to give birth to their babies and move their lives forward in a positive direction.”

The initial goal was set at $3,000.

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