PA PA - Alexander Martinez, 23, Philadelphia, 9 Jan 2012

The motivating factor for her to create Operation Save Our City – a group that works with families of murdered individuals to help them grieve and process their loss while also working to help catch the individuals responsible for the slayings – was the murder of her 22-year-old brother.

Pichardo's brother, Alexander Martinez, was shot and killed on Jan. 9, 2012, while he walked along the 3500 block of Hutchinson Street in North Philadelphia. Pichardo said he and her 16-year-old nephew were walking to get Chinese food when they were ambushed by two men who robbed them. When they pointed a gun at her nephew, Pichardo said, her brother moved to protect him.

That's when Martinez was shot.

Surveillance cameras caught footage of the suspects in the still-unsolved murder and police shared the video in hopes of making an arrest.

"I've seen that 1,000 times," Pichardo said. "I know that thing frame by frame."

Click to expand...

After seeing how the loss of her brother impacted her family, Pichardo said, she was motivated to create a service that could keep other families from going through a similar situation. She said she wanted to be able to help families control their grief, while working to seek justice for the murdered individual.

It's a job that isn't easy, she said, especially in communities where "stop snitching" is an unspoken rule.

Click to expand...

5 years ago Rosalind Pichardo’s brother was gunned down on a cold winter day on the streets of Philadelphia. It was one of the darkest moments her family has ever experienced. But this weekend she told our Bill Anderson she slept out on those same cold streets to try to bring awareness and some light to hundreds of families facing the same grief she’s dealing with….For Goodness Sake.

Ok, its winter, one of the coldest days of the year and its snowing. And with all of that going on Roz Pichardo is sleeping outside to bring attention to the violence on Philadelphia streets.

“This is the 72 hour Camp out for Peace. This is the 5th year anniversary and I’ve been doing it since the murder of my brother, Alexander Martinez," she told FOX 29.

Click to expand...