05/15/2015
Non-Partisan Group Offers Resources to Prevent Gun Violence Against Kids
Contributed by our colleagues at the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians
On April 29, 2015, the executive directors from the Ohio Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics, the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians, and the Ohio Osteopathic Association met with Paula Fynboh, Mark Barden, and Ellie Hayes of Sandy Hook Promise to identify potential areas of possible collaboration. Sandy Hook Promise, a national, non-profit organization based in Newtown, Connecticut arose from the tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. Mr. Barden’s son, Daniel, was killed in his first grade classroom that terrible day.
The organization’s mission is to protect children from gun violence so that no other parent experiences the loss of their child by engaging and empowering parents and empowering parents and communities with targeted prevention programs. Sandy Hook Promise seeks middle ground solutions that are doable – not far right or far left positions that are polarizing. Their programming focuses on mental wellness, prevention of social isolation and safe gun storage. Since Ohio is recognized as a microcosm of the rest of the country, Sandy Hook Promise has decided to focus a number of their activities in Ohio.
Examples of their programming include:
The member organizations of the Ohio Coalition of Primary Care Physicians plan to work on a series of articles and one-pagers to help physicians identify resources for patients relative to these difficult topics and to provide information about how to approach these important topics with patients. Familydoctor.org is one site that offers many helpful resources for your patients on the very issues that Sandy Hook Promise is focusing: