CPYV’s Board of Directors, staff and supporters are proud that Dan will apply his talent, experience and commitment to the issue at the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country. CPYV appreciates Dan’s leadership and vision and looks forward to continuing to work together on our shared mission to end the crisis of gun violence.

CPYV Board of Directors and staff will continue the organization’s work to develop and implement focused and empowering public health and safety campaigns that promote the simple steps parents, kids and others can take to prevent violence affecting youth.

 During this time, CPYV Board of Directors and staff are working to ensure a seamless transition, ensuring that the most important people we serve, youth and their families, can continue to benefit from our lifesaving work.

 Deputy Executive Director Jennie Lintz will serve as Acting Executive Director.

In both cities, the vast majority of parents thought asking about firearms was a good idea. Here are some other highlights from the study:

Results suggest that the campaign was effective in spreading awareness about the risks of firearms in the home:

• 56% of those who had heard of the campaign were concerned about the danger of firearms at friends’ and neighbors’ homes, compared to 42% of those who had not heard of the campaign.

Almost 9 in 10 parents would feel comfortable being asked about firearms in the home:

• 13% of those who had not heard of the campaign said they would feel uncomfortable being asked about guns in the home.
• Only 9% who had heard of the campaign said they would feel uncomfortable.

The findings of the evaluation suggest that ASK is making a difference. CPYV looks forward to continuing to inspire parents to ASK in 2012!

See the full results in the ISRN Public Health Journal article and find out more about ASK (Asking Saves Kids).

A new article published this week in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine finds that conversations between doctors and families about gun ownership are not only productive, but necessary. Key Findings in the article include:

• According to data from the 1994 National Health Interview Study and Year 2000 supplement, 35% of households with children report owning at least one firearm. 43% of these have at least one unlocked firearm. 13% store firearms in ways accessible to children: unlocked and loaded, or unlocked, unloaded, and stored with ammunition.
• A 2002 study found that more than half of all suicides are firearm-related, and adolescent suicide rates are four to ten times higher in households with a gun.
• According to CDC data, an average of 86 Americans die by firearms each day.
• A 2003 study compared families who underwent a brief gun-safety counseling intervention with a family physician to those who received care without any intervention. 58%-64% of those counseled made a change to store guns more safely, compared with 33% in the control group. Four out of seven similar studies found improved firearm storage after similar interventions.
• In a 1992 study conducted at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, 90% of respondents said they would tell their child’s doctor whether they kept a gun in the home, and 75% said they would listen to a physician’s advice about keeping guns unloaded and unlocked.

The article’s authors liken this issue to cases such as child passenger safety and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), in which physicians and public health officials made dramatic progress through outreach and education. “If physicians are not allowed to ask about fırearms as a health issue, then they cannot even attempt to work toward prevention of injury.”

Like this article’s authors, The Center to Prevent Youth Violence recognizes the problem of youth firearms injuries as a preventable issue of public health. While we don’t yet know the outcome of the law in Florida, or how likely it is that other states will enact similar measures, this issue highlights the importance of parents educating themselves about safe firearm storage practices, and asking if there are guns in the homes where their children play. These are steps that parents can take today to protect the health and safety of their children.

John and Elizabeth Gray didn’t think about asking if there were guns in the house when choosing a home day care for their son. They trusted the sitter so much they left Nathaniel there overnight when John, a musician, traveled for shows.

Even when Elizabeth learned that the sitter’s son had a BB gun, she wasn’t concerned. The family assured her the gun was kept out of reach. But one day last fall, Nathaniel and another young child got hold of the weapon. They loaded it and argued over who got to hold it. Nathaniel, now 4 years old, took a hit to the eye.

His injuries have required two surgeries, and he often wears an eye patch. Now the Grays, who live in Greenwood, always ask about guns and any other potential hazards before allowing Nathaniel to play in another home.

“The thing is, I’m overly protective in general from this experience,” said John.

Most of the attention on gun safety is about how parents can keep their children safe from weapons.

But it’s not just parents who own guns who need to worry about gun safety. Parents of children who visit other homes need to take steps to keep their children safe, experts say. The best way is asking: Are their guns in the home?

Nationally, about a third of households own guns, according to the Brady Campaign/Center to Prevent Gun Violence. In Indiana, studies have put the number at closer to 45 percent of all households. National studies find that in 40 percent of households with children younger than 18, the guns are not locked up.

No one disputes that ensuring guns are safely stored will go a long way toward preventing gun injuries involving children. That’s not all, said Dan Gross, executive director and co-founder of the New York-based Center to Prevent Youth Violence.

“You still hear a lot of folks out there espousing the philosophy that all we have to do as parents is educate our kids not to touch guns,” he said. “Another very real part of the solution . . . is us taking some responsibility ourselves as parents.”

His Center’s ASK (Asking Saves Kids) Program offers advice for how parents can navigate the somewhat thorny territory of raising this issue with another parent.

Statistics suggest that most parents could use help. While the center’s research shows that it has inspired about 20 million parents to initiate the conversation, Gross concedes that most parents don’t ask about guns in homes.

It’s a touchy subject. The Florida legislature recently passed a law that prohibited doctors from asking patients about guns in their homes. Last month a federal judge blocked the law, saying it violated the doctor’s free-speech rights. Because of the nature of this topic, experts recommend that when parents ask about guns in the home, they include other safety issues.

First, ask the other parent if it’s OK if you run through some concerns. Then ask whether a parent will be in the house; are knives or matches accessible; does the parent smoke; is there a pool, and, if so, how is it secured; if you’re the parent of a child with fur allergies, ask about pets.

Pose your questions in a clear and neutral voice so the other parent does not feel targeted on the gun issue, suggests Carol Juergensen Sheets, a behavioral psychotherapist with IU Health Physicians.

“These are hard questions to ask,” she said. “Clearly you have to ask the difficult questions to make sure your kids are safe.”

If a family says they have guns, but they keep them safe, you may want to probe further as to what they do, experts say.

“The fact that the gun is ‘hidden’ should not be on its own an acceptable solution,” Gross said.

Keep in mind that some people may not want others to know where they keep their firearms, Sheets said.

Nor can you assume that because a home has a gun displayed, it’s a working firearm, said Dr. Louis Kraus, a spokesman for the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

“I have seen families where someone has a Civil War rifle, that is up on the wall, that hasn’t been shot in a hundred years,” said Kraus, chief of child and adolescent psychiatry at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. “Someone sees it, and they take a negative reaction because it’s a gun.”

However, keep in mind that if a gun and ammunition are in the house, the children who live there likely know where they are, said Cory Drum, district coordinator of Educating Kids About Gun-Violence. His program, a partnership between the Marion County prosecutor’s office and Wishard Health Services, presents seminars on gun safety for youth throughout the city.

If a parent responds defensively, that may be a tipoff that you don’t want your child to play there, the experts agree.

“There are some people that are probably going to tell you that it’s none of your business,” Kraus said. “If they’re not willing (to discuss this), your child shouldn’t be playing over there. There are too many accidents every year.”

Instead, you may suggest that the child come over to your house to play, Sheets said.

Such conversations are old hat for Kimberly Wenig, a Northwestside mother to a 9-year-old boy and 11-year-old girl. She prefers to have the conversation face-to-face.

“It’s just something that, as a parent, I do,” she said. “I never make a big deal out of it. . . . At first, I found it a little uncomfortable, but then I thought if it ever gets someone to trigger in their mind, ‘Oh yeah, I need to double check,’ it was worth it.”

And she’s never had anyone object to being asked.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) – Parents will childproof their home or take steps to prevent a fire. But most may not realize there are steps they can take to make sure their homes are suicide proof.

The Rhode Island Department of Health launched a statewide campaign to educate parents about how they can prevent tragedy.

The campaign, which is in conjunction with The Center to Prevent Youth Violence, centers mainly around limiting a child or teen’s access to firearms and prescription drugs.

“Simple, practical actions combined with providing a strong support network for teens can help keep kids safer,” said Director of Health Michael Fine, MD. “Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Rhode Islanders ages 15 to 24. Prescription drugs are one of the most common methods of intentional injuries for teens. Parents should keep prescription medications in a secure location and should safely discard any unused or expired medications.”

The Suicide-Proof Initiative includes television and radio public service announcements, as well as educational materials being distributed through partners such as pediatricians, family physicians, mental health clinicians and schools.

The campaign also includes a newly launched website, www.suicideproof.org, that features valuable information on how to suicide-proof your home and provides access to downloadable brochures and posters in English and Spanish.

For information about other suicide prevention efforts in Rhode Island, visit http://www.health.ri.gov/violence/about/suicide.

T-shirt Design Project Lauryn Wood from Northeastern Randolph Middle School in Liberty, NC

T-shirts based on Lauryn’s design are being created and will be sent to her entire class. Northeastern Randolph Middle School will also receive the SPEAK UP school safety package for one year.

Writing Project Kelly Rozanitis from Clearview Regional High School in Mullica Hill, NJ

“Of course, he was only kidding, right? Wrong. You could have stopped this. You had that power in your hands…Now take a step back. Rewind. Unsure of what he is capable of, you tell a teacher… Every day, you’re faced with decisions that can change not only your life, but the lives of those around you. Make the right decision, and if you see or hear something, speak up!”

Kelly has won an iPod Nano and Clearview Regional High School will receive the SPEAK UP school safety package for one year.

All students who participated will receive SPEAK UP prizes which should arrive at your school by the end of next week. If you do not receive a package from CPYV by November 11, please contact us at speakup@cpyv.org.

Thank you again for being part of NATIONAL SAFE SCHOOLS WEEK and helping to make it such a success. Be sure to look out for more events and projects throughout the year on our SPEAK UP Facebook page or at www.cpyv.org.

This morning, as I was getting ready to go to work with the TV news on in the background, I heard the anchor say, “Police are still seeking a motive for the deadly shooting rampage in the Carson City IHOP that claimed four lives.”

And that got me thinking. Are we all too wrapped up with figuring out the motivation and mentality of murderers — so much so that we overlook the real opportunities to prevent these tragedies from happening?

So, as a little exercise, I decided to Google the phrase, “still looking for motive.” The results were striking.

Even though my search did not include any words like “murder,” “shooting,” “gun,” “death,” or even “police,” nine of the ten results on the first page were news reports about gun deaths (one was about a stabbing). That alone is testimony to the incredible level of violence we tolerate in this country. The circumstances ranged from drive-by shootings to two murder-suicides. In every case, it seems local media is focused on trying to determine the motive.

Yet, literally none of these news reports focused on the role that the presence of the gun played in nine of the ten stories.

Of course, I know it’s the job of the police to look for a motive; but, in the name of prevention, I think we all need to take a long hard look at the other factors that result in the loss of life, especially when they’re this obvious.

Now I know that some political activists (of which I am very decidedly not one) may already be screaming at their computers, “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” And, to some extent that’s true, and it’s always worthwhile to ask ourselves what makes people kill and what we can do about it.

But, it seems, the big question when the news reports another gun death is always “why?” And that hasn’t gotten us very far toward solving a problem that claims 35,000 lives every year. At the very least, we also should also be asking, “how?”

Yes, people kill people. But overwhelmingly, it’s people with guns. Just purely on the basis of public safety, it is irresponsible of us not to take an honest look at the role that the presence of guns plays too.

If we did — and we wouldn’t even need to scratch too far below the surface — we would see that just by doing things like educating parents about preventing youth access to firearms, and providing kids with the inspiration and resources to report weapons and threats, we can prevent more than 1,000 youth murders, homicides and accidents every year!

It shouldn’t be too much to ask. Both the Brady Center and the NRA, considered on opposite sides of the political “gun debate” must agree that saving children’s lives is a priority. Instead of focusing exclusively on figuring out the motives of people disturbed enough to commit murder in the first place, after their victims are already dead, why not also focus on some of the very real things we can do to prevent those deaths in the first place?

As someone who has dedicated my life to the prevention of gun violence, it is heartening to see so much attention being paid to it. The terrible tragedy in Tucson has once again elevated the issue into the national spotlight and, as evidenced in places like The Huffington Post, it has sparked an intense dialogue, a public outcry even, for solutions.

Much of the focus has been on policy, based, it seems, on a discussion of what might have prevented the tragedy in Tucson. That certainly seems like a reasonable, appropriate and worthwhile conversation to have. However, it is not the only opportunity to apply the heightened public sentiment for meaningful and lasting change. It may not even be the best one.

The reality is that, while unspeakably tragic, the shooting in Tucson is not representative of most gun violence in our nation — the type of gun violence that claims the lives of eight children and teens every day. Most of these youth gun deaths — the shockingly common ones — don’t make the national headlines, perhaps because they are so common.

For example, about half of youth gun deaths, or more than 1,500 per year, occur because parents, relatives or friends leave guns accessible to kids. They are the suicides and accidents that are looked at as isolated tragedies, rather than together as the preventable crisis of public safety that they really represent.

Every day in my job, it seems, I hear another story of a teenager using a parent’s gun to take his or her own life, another family devastated every bit as much as those impacted by tragedies like the one in Tucson.

What I don’t hear is an appropriately passionate conversation about how many of these tragedies could have been prevented, beginning with an honest recognition of the risks and dangers associated with youth access to firearms in the home and the simple steps parents can take to make their families safer.

Without condemning or casting judgment on the choice to own guns for purposes such as hunting and target shooting, let’s arm ourselves with the unbiased knowledge and information that will enable us as parents to make the right decisions on behalf of the safety and well-being of our kids — the same type of knowledge and information that motivates us to child-proof our homes when we have babies or insist that our kids wear bike helmets.

After all, what greater common ground can there be than our desire to protect our kids?

Another shockingly available opportunity we have to prevent youth gun deaths is to prevent youth-on-youth violence, from school shootings to gang violence. The fact is, we can prevent hundreds of deaths every year by inspiring and empowering kids to speak up about the threats of violence that, in the overwhelming majority of cases, exist before a tragedy occurs.

To facilitate this, my organization has created an awareness campaign and national tip line for young people to anonymously report weapon threats — 1-866-SPEAK-UP. We have received more than 35,000 calls in less than 10 years, leading to the prevention of hundreds of acts of violence. As we discuss policy solutions to gun violence, we should also discuss proven, empowering, community based solutions like this.

In the end, it is inspiring to see how our nation can come together in the wake of tragedies like the one in Tucson. It is heartening to see our leaders and our citizens engaged in a dialogue in search of solutions to the crisis of gun violence. At the same time, if we really want to make the most of this moment, it is vitally important that the dialogue reflect the real nature of the problem that exists and, more importantly, the real opportunities that we all have to help end it.

In an open letter sent by the White House, First Lady Michelle Obama suggests parents use the Tucson tragedy as a teachable moment. It’s a moment, she writes, for valuable lessons, “about the character of our country, about the values we hold dear, and about finding hope at a time when it seems far away.”

PAX (The Center to Prevent Youth Violence) applauds the First Lady for sending this important and inspirational message and agrees that this horrific tragedy represents an important teachable moment.

PAX hopes this tragedy will inspire parents and kids alike to consider the very real things that can be done to prevent the tragic loss of lives from gun violence.

Eight children and teens die by guns in America every day. Most do not make national headlines; but most are preventable. They are the suicides and unintentional shootings that occur as the result of guns parents choose to keep in the home. It is the gang violence, urban shootings, even school shootings that occur despite the fact that young people knew about the attacker’s plans.

PAX urges parents and kids alike to use this teachable moment to educate ourselves about what we can do to prevent the tragic and unnecessary loss of young lives.

Parents, consider the very real risks associated with having a gun in the home. Understand about the risks of suicide and unintentional shootings that lead to the death on average of about three young people every day. If you still choose to have a gun despite these risks, at least make absolutely sure it’s stored safely.

Kids, know you are empowered to prevent violence by speaking up about weapons and threats and that you can do it safely and anonymously through the 1-866-SPEAK-UP hotline.

Most youth gun deaths can be prevented through these simple measures. If that’s not worth teaching about, what is?

To learn more information about what you can do to prevent youth gun deaths, visit www.paxusa.org.