CHANDLER, AZ — Roy Sublasky is a pastor at Life Community Church in Gilbert.
"Daniel was a fun-loving young man," Sublasky said. "He really did have a heart to serve."
Back in October, Sublasky got a knock on his door that no parent ever wants.
"Mesa police department knocked on the door, handed us a number for the Chandler Police department and asked us if we could rush down to Chandler Regional," Sublasky said.
It was there he learned from doctors that his son, Daniel Justus Sublasky, who was 19 at the time, had been shot 3 times.
He died Oct. 11. Two 19-year-olds were arrested in connection to his death.
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"Initially, when this all happened, I had many different individuals come to me and say 'hey we need to do something about this' and it's like well what do we do," Sublasky said.
Through talking with and counseling many of Daniel's peers, Sublasky saw a real need for de-escalation from violence in the community.
"What we have done is tried to create a program that is not only de-escalation but prevention," Sublasky said.
He is using the word LOVED to get the message across, each letter a part of the overall purpose:
L — Live with Purpose
O — Own Your Choices
V — Value Every Life
E — Embrace Growth
D — Develop Healthy Habits and Strong Relationships
"What we are hoping for is that people will embrace that, whether that be in the classroom, in different community events, I would like to be able to host community events where we are learning, you know, each aspect of LOVED," Sublasky said.
The program is still in progress, but Sublasky believes it is worth it.
"We really want to turn this and not just keep it as a tragedy, but somehow bring some purpose out of this pain," Sublasky said.
Sublasky hopes to connect with people in the community about this mission. To learn more Sublasky says to send him an email, roy@lifecommunityaz.com
