Lemonade stand brings community together

South Bend, IN -- Demetrius Johnson enjoyed a nice cold cup of lemonade on Saturday afternoon, but it wasn't what kept him around. He needed to get some things off his chest.

"People need to get together and learn how to talk to one another," Johnson said.

He didn't even know about today's lemonade stand. He was passing by Vassar Avenue and Adams St when he noticed people outside. He was curious, so he stopped by to check it out.

"When people see people, they'll wonder like, 'What's going on? Some of them are scared to come up, but until you come up, you'll never know what's happening," Johnson said.

He's lived on South Bend's west side for years, and knows first hand how violence can affect a community.

"It's hard out here, you know what I'm saying?" Johnson said. "I see these guys get into it with their older brothers or people, and I'm like, 'I've lived that already. Don't do that because you wish what you get, and you get what you wish."

He said free lemonade won't solve gun violence, but a dialogue between people like this is a start. He said events like this should happen more often, because problems facing this community aren't solved quickly.

"Just know these streets and these same people will always be around," Johnson said.