Stacey King's three children are alive, but traumatized.
Her nine-year-old was shot in the right leg, her five-year-old twice in the stomach, while a bullet grazed by the head of her seven-year-old while they were in a Scarborough playground in June.
"Nobody would understand it until they actually experienced it for themselves," she said.
King is one of the faces of the Coalition for Gun Control's new campaign in Canada, called Trigger Change, which includes visual displays in Toronto and across the country.
It includes a glass case filled with bullets, a 13-foot sculpture of a bullet as an exclamation mark and there will also be billboards promoting the campaign, such as on the Gardiner Expressway.
The Coalition for Gun Control launches a new campaign with sculptures, billboards and displays like this one in front of Toronto City Hall. It’s pushing the federal government for tougher gun laws. More on @NEWSTALK1010 #onpoli #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/HKJ8VYeVGV
— NEWSTALK1010 (@NEWSTALK1010) November 13, 2018
Coalition president Wendy Cukier said the hope is the visual marketing will lead Canadians to an online petition to push the federal government for harsher gun laws, including a handgun ban in Toronto.
"I know all that data, but that doesn't seem to be enough to get people moving and we're hoping that with our sculpture and the engagement of the victims and a whole variety of activities across the city, we will be able to get people to take action," she said.
The idea of a handgun ban has been pushed by Toronto Mayor John Tory as the city has seen a spike in gun-related deaths this year.
According to Toronto Police statistics, there have been 352 shootings this year, over 31 more than 2017.
Of the 473 shooting victims, 45 have died.
While Toronto's police chief has told city council earlier this year that about 50 percent of firearms used from crimes are domestic, the RCMP and the federal government don't collect statistics on gun origins.
The idea of a gun ban has also been scrutinized by the head of Toronto's police union for how effective it could be, as well as the Canadian Coalition for Firearm Rights.
"Coming into my home and getting them by force out of my cabinet does not equate to getting them off the street," Stacey Wilson of the group told CTV NEWS in October. "Let's concentrate on the crime and work on the gang problem."
For King, there isn't one solution.
"Some of the problems I think is poverty, has a lot to do with it, mental illness," she said. "They're probably seeking and they're not getting the help that they're supposed to get out there."
But she added the ban has to happen.
"For families that have experienced gun violence, we all need to come together and build this and be strong," she said.