Activist completes ‘Be Inspired’ book on his mission to defeat gun violence

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Brandon Warren has a lot on his plate these days

The 19-year-old is a student at Ball State and a social activist who founded the non-profit “We Live Indy.”

The organization is dedicated to deterring and preventing youth gun violence in Indianapolis and across the United States.

The former Warren Central student does it all in memory of the two friends he lost to gun violence after a shooting on the west side of Indianapolis in 2017.

Now he hopes to put that mission into words with his new book, “Be Inspired.”

When News 8 talked to him in May, he was almost finished, but wanted to add one final touch.

That missing piece was a letter to Dijon Anderson, his friend and former teammate on the Warren Central football team.

He dedicates “Be Inspired” to Dijon and his friend Angel Mejia-Alfaro who were.

The book is a memoir about those dark times, finding a way to help heal himself and others and how to get ahead of these problems before young people in our communities pick up guns in the first place.

He admits that opening up about the pain he went through, after losing his friends wasn’t easy, but it was something he had to do.

“You know it’s a struggle but it’s a blessing at the end of the day to know that my story is so valuable that it can save the lives of others,” Warren said. “Many people believe that they can’t make a difference and many people believe their footprint is not big enough to make a difference. I want them to know it is big enough to make a difference.”

Brandon says after he graduates from Ball State he hopes to get into politics so he can help make the changes that he wants to see in his home state of Indiana.

If you want to find out how you can get a hold of the book in stores and online click here.