Luncheon marks 20 years of Project Exile in Rochester

Rochester, N.Y. (WHAM) - This year marks 20 years of Project Exile existing in Rochester.

The program focuses on getting illegal guns and drugs off of the streets. It was first started in Richmond, Virginia and was subsequently adopted in other cities across the U.S.

On Tuesday afternoon, a community luncheon was held to mark the start of the program in 1998. To date, the collaboration between local and federal law enforcement has helped to remove thousands of illegal firearms.

Project Exile Advisory Board chairman Gary Mervis, who has been with the program for its duration in Rochester, was honored at the luncheon for his role.

"Who knows the devastation that just one of those guns could have made on our community if they were allowed to remain in the hands of the people they were taken away from," Mervis said.

Board members meet once each month to share information in their fight to keep those guns off out of the hands of violent people.