UVALDE, Texas — It's been four months without 19 students and two teachers who were killed in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary on May 24.
The nonprofit Lives Robbed, which was founded by some of the victims' families, posted a statement on their social media account on Saturday along with the names of the 21 victims.
"It has been 4 months. In that four months our families have traveled to DC at least 3 times, we've attended countless school board and city council meetings, we've sent children back to school and mourned the ones who did not return," the statement says.
Among the victims named is fourth grader Maite Rodriguez. The 10-year-old is remembered by family as a girl with big dreams of becoming a marine biologist.
Over the summer, her family visited her favorite beach in Mexico to clean up debris in her memory. Matching shirts were worn by family members with Maite's favorite colored sneakers.
"We were there for a while. We cleaned it, we released flowers and released sea turtles into the sea," said Destiny Esquivel, her older cousin.
Esquivel said the last four months without her cousin have been difficult. She misses her and the playful relationship they had when Maite was alive. However, they are memories Esquivel holds on to.
"That's what keeps me going to be honest," she said.
Along with the heartbreak, Esquivel lives with anxiety from her home in Eagle Pass. She's going to counseling to overcome her fear of attending high school, but she says speaking out against gun violence makes her feel stronger.
"It's a fight every day," she said.
Esquivel stand with the other families is raising the age limit to purchasing an automatic rifle to age 21. While it won't bring her cousin back, she believe it could make a difference in the future.
"I really hope people have an open mind and to look at what's actually happening in the world now."