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WARREN -- To her sisters, Ashante Kirksey had a presence that would change anyone's mood on a dime, someone that was a great mother of four and in some ways almost like a second mother to her siblings growing up.
"Me (Megan Parks), Dariah (Kirksey) and all of her sisters were very different. But with any of us, she (Ashante) could always understand where we're coming from, what we're going through. She always had good advice too," Megan Parks, sister of Ashante, said at a giveaway in her honor on Friday.
Four weeks after Kirksey's death, Warren residents began efforts to pay homage to the 26-year-old mother of four, who was fatally shot at her Francis Avenue home last month.
A neighborhood organization group, Southeast Side Community Association (SESCA), has been raising money for the family and set up a toy drive on behalf of Kirksey's four children in the parking lot of Progressive Baptist Church, 2258 Colonial St. Friday afternoon.
Two women from Windsor Homes, who Ashante Kirksey had worked with in the past, stopped by to drop off boxes of toys and bags filled with new clothing. They were joined by several others that trickled in throughout the afternoon.
"She was so loving, free spirited," said Farrah Jones, president of SESCA. "Coming into womanhood and having children she never stopped improving or bettering herself. She got her nurse's license and she was proud of that accomplishment because with four small children, that's not easy."
Since her death, Jones, who has known Ashante Kirksey since birth, has been working to rally community support around the family.
One of the first to reach out were representatives from Warren City Schools. Sonya Williams and T'KeeYah Cambridge answered the call to help days after the tragedy. Two of Kirksey's oldest children attended Lincoln PK-8 schools, which opened its school pantry to the family, providing them food, clothing and other basic needs.
The father of Kirksey's children called 911 about 2 a.m. the early morning of Nov. 11 and told dispatchers that his girlfriend had been shot, saying "they" came into the Francis Avenue residence behind him and shot his girlfriend in the neck, according to a dispatch call log. The man also told dispatchers that "three" unknown people left the area in a gray Jeep.
Police said Fisher-Kirksey was "not breathing at all" in her home in the 900 block of Francis Avenue SE. Warren police had later issued a warrant for the arrest of 19-year-old Noel Flores.
Kirksey had just moved into the home a few weeks prior, so they did not know her well. However, they said that the family "fit right in" with the rest of the neighborhood, which is filled with children.
Just days after her life was tragically taken, about 35 attendees of a candlelight vigil for Ashante formed a circle in the front yard of the Kirksey's home in solidarity.
The group released balloons, talked about Kirksey and prayed. Some told stories about the victim's life and described her as a loving person who is "gone too soon."
As the donations poured in Friday afternoon, Parks, 29, and Dariah Kirksey, 22, showed up to help collect donations. By the time of their arrival, two tables were almost filled with gifts for their sisters children.
"It makes me feel good to see that people actually care about the kids and them having a good Christmas during at time like this," Parks said. Her sister Dariah Kirksey added "to know that a community can come together and still help each other warms my heart."
The two sisters have been the primary caregivers of her children, Amarion, Macion, Melli'on and Zurie, all of whom were present in the home at the time of their mother's death.
"It's been a big adjustment, we all miss her," Dariah Kirksey said. "You don't get over it, you just do it. There's still times throughout the day where I want to call her and tell her about something just happened."
"The kids do something then I catch myself starting to call her and can't even do that," Parks said.
A conversation that has been unavoidable for both sisters is telling their sister's children about what happened to their mother.
Dariah Kirksey said, "I'm honest because the kids are smart and they know exactly what happened because they were there so I make sure I'm not brutally honest to protect the kids feelings but at the end of the day, I let them know what they want to know."
Given the emotional trauma of that night, the sisters said they're looking to put their nephews and niece through therapy to help them deal with heavy burden of witnessing their mother's murder.
The search for the suspect, Flores, ended this week after U.S. Marshals announced they had tracked Flores down to a neighborhood in the area of St. Petersburg. Flores now awaits an extradition hearing there.
For Kirksey's sisters, it's a start toward receiving justice.
Parks spoke first, "I'm really happy they got caught so that some justice can be brought to my sisters, I'm really thankful to the police that took their time out and put their lives at risk to find him."
Dariah Kirksey said, "I appreciate the police for getting him. Justice hasn't been served quite yet though, we still have to go to the court and see what's going to happen there but I have a good feeling about it. Hopefully I'll be able to move on from everything."
The drive to support and provide donations to the family will continue today from 2 to 6 p.m. A cashapp named, $KirkseyKids, also is accepting donations that go toward the Kirksey family.