GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Welcome to 13 ON YOUR SIDE's More Than A Number survey page.
First, we want to express that we are sorry for your loss.
It's understandably a difficult time for you. Our goal is to make the process less painful through our initiative, More Than A Number.
Your loved one was a member of our community, and we want to help honor that.
With your help, we'd like to share who your loved one was with others in West Michigan.
When you are ready, please share photos, memories and other details about your loved one. You can do that by completing our online form below.
Thank you for taking the time to share and allowing us to help share your story with others.
Note: If your loved one lives in the Macon, Georgia area, please visit WMAZ's family form.
About More Than A Number
More Than A Number is a project first started by 13 ON YOUR SIDE sister station WMAZ in Macon, Georgia.
It's the work of Justin Baxley through his Poynter-Koch Media and Journalism Fellowship. Victim's advocacy is especially personal for Justin, who lost his father in a robbery.
Justin went through a horrifying experience when someone shot and killed his father Michael Baxley, and it inspired him to take a different approach to how journalists report on victims of tragedies.
"Within two hours of me finding out, I received five phone calls asking me for an interview, and I would say I'm not ready yet, and they'd call back in an hour and say, are you ready now," he recalled.
"Overwhelmed and a lack of empathy and a lack of compassion for what I'd gone through, and it was like I had to be beholden to their 24-hour news cycle," Justin said.
Justin wishes he had talked to the media after his father's murder. But he wasn't ready when reporters wanted to talk to him. He believes someone with information might have come forward if he had shared his father's story in the days after his death.
The More Than A Number initiative allows families and loved ones of victims to open up about them on their own time.
13 ON YOUR SIDE hosts a West Michigan Homicide Memorial Page for those homicide victims in our community. It serves as a reminder of the lives lost and the families impacted by the violence.
We also provide a resource guide that can get you started with insurance, crime scene cleanup, counseling options to how to get help with groceries.
If you have questions or concerns, you can email us at news@13onyourside.com.
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