How These Volunteers Are Spreading the Be SMART Message on National Injury Prevention Day 2024

November 18 is National Injury Prevention Day (NIPD). Be SMART is a proud founding partner of NIPD, which is designed to raise awareness about the burden of injury and violence and the need for change.

This year marks the fifth annual National Injury Prevention Day. Today, some of the nation’s leading injury and violence prevention organizations will come together to empower communities to make safe choices for their families as they live, learn, and play. These organizations will promote efforts to protect children from injuries—including unintentional shootings. 

In the U.S., firearms are the leading cause of death for children and teens. Since 2015, more than 3,300 children under 18 have gained access to a gun and unintentionally shot themselves or someone else.

One of the best ways to protect children and teens from accessing guns is to implement secure firearm storage practices.¹https://everytownresearch.org/report/unload-lock-and-separate-secure-storage-practices-to-reduce-gun-violence/

These include storing firearms locked, unloaded, and separate from ammunition. By educating the public on secure gun storage, we can reduce injuries and gun violence, and create a safer environment for our families and neighbors.

On National Injury Prevention Day and year-round, our Moms Demand Action volunteers spread the word through the Be SMART program about how secure firearm storage can help keep kids and families safe. We spoke with some of these volunteers about their experiences with Be SMART and how they are marking NIPD.

Answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Why do you volunteer and spread the word about the Be SMART program?

Ann Lizakowski, Be SMART Fargo-Moorhead North Dakota local group lead: 

It is very important to me to keep children safe from gun violence. Secure firearm storage is a critical way to help prevent gun violence trauma, injuries, and death.

Our chapter often hands out gun locks as well as other Be SMART materials. I love sharing these because every lock that we hand out could help save lives. At one event this year, we gave out almost 100 gun locks in one day!

Kristen Moldenhauer, South Carolina Be SMART lead: 

I have been volunteering with the Be SMART program for over 10 years. I work in a hospital-based violence intervention program with high-risk and violently injured patients. Because of this, I know firsthand the impact that gun violence has on youth and families in my community.

Through my work with Be SMART, I have met countless families with young children who were not practicing secure firearm storage. During conversations with them, I’ve highlighted the need for securing firearms and provided them with the means—a cable gun lock—to properly secure their firearms. I know that this work has helped to prevent child injury and death in my community.

Firearms are very prevalent in our communities in South Carolina. It is important to us to normalize and model conversations about secure storage. The more we can equip parents and caregivers to have these conversations with others, the more likely we are to save lives. 

Why is it important to you to recognize National Injury Prevention Day?

Ann Lizakowski:

So many injuries and deaths that involve a gun, including suicide deaths, can be prevented. National Injury Prevention Day (NIPD) is an important opportunity to share information about secure gun storage and tools like gun locks to help prevent these tragedies.  

Safe Kids Worldwide is one of the national partners for NIPD and for Be SMART. Last spring, the Safe Kids coalition coordinator in our area reached out to us to ask about collaborating. The Fargo-Moorhead Safe Kids coalition wanted to do more work on gun safety. We’ve tabled for Be SMART at some of their events. The Be SMART program has also shared materials and gun locks with Safe Kids to hand out to parents in the area. Several parents have told us that the Be SMART program is a helpful resource for them. One parent we spoke with is the owner of a gun shop in the community. They asked for more information and were potentially interested in sharing some of the Be SMART resources in their gun shop.

It’s great to be able to partner with organizations like Safe Kids on NIPD. We continue that work throughout the year to bring the message about secure gun storage to our community. That includes talking with school districts, law enforcement, and gun safety and/or hunter safety instructors in our area.

Kristen Moldenhauer:

Guns are the leading cause of death for American children. NIPD increases awareness and education about injury prevention. That work is a critical part of preventing child deaths and injuries due to firearms.

It’s also important to keep these conversations going year-round. One of our community partners is the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). MUSC leads the Safe Kids coalition in the Charleston, South Carolina, area. 

We gave a Be SMART presentation to some of their residents in 2018. After that conversation, some residents began adding conversations about secure firearm storage into all their pediatric well visits. This addition has helped the community view gun violence as the public health issue that it is. MUSC professionals are normalizing the conversation about firearm safety just as they would any other safety topic, like car safety or bike helmet safety.

Currently, pediatricians distribute Be SMART literature to patients and display Be SMART posters in the pediatric clinic. They also give free gun locks to families in need. Be SMART partners with Safe Kids throughout the year for child safety-centered events.

How are you marking National Injury Prevention Day?

Ann Lizakowski:

Our Moms Demand Action local group tabled for Be SMART at an event for the United Way and Safe Kids in our area on November 15. The event had a costume contest, a silent auction, and dancing. We talked to the community members who attended and handed out free gun locks. It was a fun evening for the community and allowed us to spread the word about secure firearm storage.

Kristen Moldenhauer:

The Charleston Moms Demand Action local group tabled for Be SMART on November 17 at the SC Career Kids Mobile Safety Town. We participated alongside our MUSC Safe Kids community partner. Safe Kids organized the event and set up tables with community partners to share safety information.

The Safety Town was set up in the gym, complete with road signs, sidewalks, and little buildings. Be SMART volunteers handed out information outlining the Be SMART steps to keep children safe from firearms:

1. Secure all firearms in your homes and vehicles
2. Model responsible behavior around firearms
3. Ask about the presence of unsecured firearms in others’ homes
4. Recognize the role of firearms in suicide
5. Tell your peers to Be SMART

We also talked with parents and caregivers about secure firearm storage. We helped provide guidance on different secure storage methods, and we handed out free gun locks to families in need.

Be SMART for Kids

Developed by the Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund and Moms Demand Action, the Be SMART program helps parents and other adults normalize conversations about gun safety and take responsible actions that can prevent child gun deaths and injuries.

Learn more about secure gun storage and how to Be SMART for Kids.