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2. Be a Fan of Violence Prevention

The Center for Violence Prevention at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) started in 2013 in partnership with the School District of Philadelphia, providing intensive programs for families who have gone through any sort of violent experiences, including gun violence.

“We have a robust gun safety program which encourages our clinical staff to have non-judgmental conversations with families about guns, either in their home or in homes where their children may visit. And we offer education as well as free gun locking devices, so gun locks and gun safes, completely free of charge, just to promote the safest home for a child as a home without a gun,” Associate Director of Communications for the Center for Injury Research and Prevention and Center for Violence Prevention at CHOP Lindsey Mitros said.

“Our whole center is built on the principle of community-based, participatory research. We’re bringing in the voices of the community and working alongside them to make sure everything we’re doing is going to be well received.”

CHOP aims to help families know that they have resources and ways to prevent traumatic incidents from happening. And if they do, CHOP is there to help them on the road to recovery.

“At CHOP, the goal of pediatrics is to raise kids to be healthy adults. And when we think about health, you have to think about violence as a public health issue, really, alongside any other clinical issue that a child may be facing coming into CHOP. We really want to think about violence in the same lens. And so, we’re always thinking about a prevention model, and how can we prevent these things from happening,” Mitros said.

“We’ve been so fortunate to partner with the Eagles, and I think the Eagles have been so generous in using their platform and their incredible fan base to really help shine a light on gun violence prevention. Gun violence is the number one cause of death for children in this country. It has surpassed motor vehicle crashes, which for years, was the number one cause of death. And so, it is a huge concern. It is a huge community concern. It is a multi-faceted public health challenge, and it will take a community effort to see positive change.”