Janie Slaven: GUEST COLUMN: We should all work together to promote gun safety

Janie Slaven, The Times-Tribune, Corbin, Ky.
·3 min read

Sep. 23—Recent tragic deaths in our communities illustrate the urgent and continued need for gun safety education, particularly with children. Our hearts go out to the families, first responders and community partners who have been impacted by gun violence and the aftermath.

We recognize that the gun debate can raise passions on all sides, but we all can agree that firearms safety is a must, especially when children are involved. At Saint Joseph London, our Nurturing Children program is working with local schools and law enforcement to educate students across southeastern Kentucky on gun safety. The program is dedicated to educating children on how to interact when a firearm is present in an engaging and understandable way.

During the last school year, our team partnered with the Knox County Sheriff's Department, Barbourville Police Department, Kentucky State Police and the school resource officers in the Knox County School District to bring the Eddie Eagle GunSafe® program to students there. We are launching the program to Laurel County Schools this school year. Our goal is to provide schools with another safety tool to help students stay safe if they come into contact with a firearm.

The mission of the Eddie Eagle program is to teach children four simple steps if they ever come across a gun. Those easy-to-remember steps are: Stop; Don't Touch; Run Away; and Tell a Grown-Up. The program was developed in 1988 by a task force composed of educators, school administrators, curriculum specialists, urban housing safety officials, clinical psychologists, law enforcement officials and National Rifle Association firearm safety experts.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, in 2022, two children under age 11 were killed and 19 injured, while six teens were killed and 53 teens injured in gun incidents in Kentucky. Across the U.S., between 2015 and 2020, there were at least 2,070 unintentional shootings by children that resulted in 765 deaths and 1,366 nonfatal gun injuries, according to the Gun Violence Archive. This year, three children under age 11 and 16 teens have died from gun injuries in Kentucky.

While educating our children on these four critical steps to take when they encounter a gun, we echo the recommendations of our local law enforcement leaders: The safest way to store a firearm is locked up using a safe/locked device, unloaded, separate from the ammunition and inaccessible to children.

The top priority of our Nurturing Children program is to keep kids safe and healthy. We are here to support the communities we serve in any way we can. Providing gun safety education in our schools is just one way we are working toward that goal. We will be hosting future community events, providing gun locks and more safety education in the near future.

The Nurturing Children Program at Saint Joseph London is made possible through a grant from the CommonSpirit Health Mission and Ministry Fund. The goal of the program is to reduce child abuse and neglect as well as child fatality. Schools interested in participating in the Eddie Eagle GunSafe program can contact Mollie Harris at Mollie.Harris@commonspirit.org.