People across the Valley are confronting gang violence in the area.

After the shooting death of 19-year-old Reginald "Shay" Nicholson in November, his friends are trying to raise awareness through a creative effort at this year's SAW 2010 rally. SAW is an acronym for Staunton, Augusta, Waynesboro.

Johnathan Toomey is one of the people who wrote the play "R + J." It's a new take on "Romeo and Juliet" meant to call attention to gang violence in the Valley.

Toomey says he's trying to get, "Somebody, anybody other than me at this point, and the rest of SAW to step out there and do something. Because until we band together, this is going to continue."

One of Toomey's best friends, Shay Nicholson, died days after what Harrisonburg police call a gang-related shooting. A month later, Toomey says he crashed his car going 80 miles-an-hour.

"I feel like there's got to be a reason that I'm still alive. And I actually attribute that to him. I feel like the only reason that I could have possibly survived that accident is because he was watching over me," says Toomey.

Kim Koeppen, a board member of the Virginia Gang Investigators Association, names some of the gangs that are active in the Valley.

"Bloods. Crips. MS-13. Latin Kings. Gangster Disciples," says Koeppen. "I don't want people to get complacent and say, 'Oh, well, we've dealt with that. Let's move on.' We need to continue to deal with this because if we don't it's going to continue to get worse."

"It's actually kind of weird that I was shocked by it because, why should gangs not be here," asks Toomey. "Just because we're a small community, If anything, that means they have easier targets and less possibility of getting caught. So, they're just as likely to be here as anywhere. And, they are."

The SAW 2010 rally starts Thursday night and runs through Saturday. It's being held at the Wayne Hills Baptist Church in Waynesboro.