Be SMART and Collaboraction Partner on PSAs to Promote Secure Gun Storage, with support from Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation, Englewood Community Action Council, Mothers & Men Against Senseless Killing (MASK), Sacred Ground Ministries, and Chicago Youth Boxing Club (Little Village) 

CHICAGO — Today, Be SMART, a program of Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, and Collaboraction, a local social impact theater and media company in Chicago, released the following statements as they unveiled six new public service announcements (PSAs) to promote secure gun storage. Be SMART and Collaboraction worked with fellow Chicago-area groups Precious Blood Ministry of Reconciliation, Englewood Community Action Council, Mothers & Men Against Senseless Killing (MASK), Sacred Ground Ministries, and Chicago Youth Boxing Club (Little Village) to model conversations about secure gun storage that would resonate with adults and families. 

Each of the new spots is designed to help parents and adults normalize discussing secure storage and take responsible actions to prevent tragedies like unintentional shootings by children, school shootings, youth gun suicide, and community crime that can occur when guns are stolen from cars. Collaboraction conducted a concepting session with partner groups earlier this year and wrote the scripts for the PSAs based on ideas and themes that surfaced during that session.

“In our community, we understand the need for responsible gun ownership, and secure storage is part of it,” said Maria Pike, a survivor of gun violence, Moms Demand Action volunteer, and Board Member for Collaboraction. Maria’s 24 year-old son, Ricky Pike, was shot and killed while trying to park in front of his new apartment in Logan Square on August 3, 2012. “By promoting secure storage, we are promoting the safety of our loved ones at home, in school, in our cars, and in our community. Preventing guns from being used by those who shouldn’t have them can save lives.”

“This is a special opportunity to bring our work as storytellers, and social change activists to the issue of safe gun storage,” said Anthony Moseley, Chief Programming Officer and Artistic Director of Collaboraction. “As we continue to create engaging digital content, this Be SMART Campaign perfectly fits our mission of inspiring new knowledge, empathy, dialogue and action.” 

When guns aren’t properly stored, tragedy can strike. Every year, nearly 360 children under 18 gain access to a firearm and unintentionally shoot themselves or someone else. One-third of gun deaths among children and teens under 18 are suicides, with nearly 80% of these deaths involving a gun belonging to a family member. 

Not securely storing firearms can also lead to community crime. The Secret Service found that 76% of school shooters under 18 gained access to the gun used from the home of a parent or close family member. In addition, the rate of gun thefts from cars has soared over the past decade. On average, at least one gun is stolen from a car every nine minutes in the United States. These stolen guns are often used in other crimes in our communities.

WATCH THE NEW VIDEOS HERE:

Student Tries to Bring Gun to School (in Spanish here)

Youth At Risk of Gun Suicide (in Spanish here)

Gun Stolen From Car (in Spanish here)

Guns are the leading cause of death for children and teens in Illinois and the United States. Throughout the U.S., an estimated 13 million households with children under the age of 18 contain at least one gun. Not all of these firearms are stored securely: approximately 4.6 million children live in a household with at least one gun that is stored, while loaded and unlocked. An estimated 54 percent of gun owners don’t lock all of their guns securely. Research shows that one of the most effective ways to prevent children and unauthorized users from accessing firearms is making sure all guns are stored unloaded, locked, and separate from ammunition. Firearms are not stored securely when they’re placed in an unlocked dresser or nightstand drawer, under a couch cushion, mattress, or pillow, in an unlocked closet, on a high shelf or on top of the refrigerator, under a car seat or in a glove box. 

For more information or to speak to an expert or volunteer, please contact [email protected].

Be SMART

Be SMART, a program of Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, helps parents and other adults normalize conversations about gun safety and take responsible actions that can prevent child gun deaths and injuries, youth suicide, and gunfire on school grounds. 

The program encourages parents and adults to: 

• Secure all guns in their home and vehicles
• Model responsible behavior around guns
• Ask about the presence of unsecured guns in other homes
• Recognize the role of guns in suicide
• Tell your peers to be SMART

For more information on secure firearm storage and the most effective ways to protect children from unsecured firearms, visit BeSMARTforkids.org. Additional information about unintentional shootings by children can be found here, facts and resources about child gun suicide can be found here, and information about gunfire on school grounds can be found here.

Collaboraction

Collaboraction is a 28-year-old, ethno-diverse non-profit arts organization dedicated to changing the map and removing barriers in the live theater industry. The company uses its proprietary KEDA methodology – Knowledge, Empathy, Dialogue and Action – across all platforms, including live theater, film, radio and online interactive programs, to spark changes in attitudes and behavior that manifest social change.  Collaboraction has been awarded 3 Emmy Awards (2 Regional and 1 National News and Documentary) for their project Trial in the Delta: The Murder of Emmett Till, which adapted the once-missing trial transcript of the State of Mississippi V. the murders of Emmett Till.

Currently, Collaboraction is building a new home, including a 99-seat flexible studio theater and a 50-seat cabaret with a cafe/bar, inside the Kimball Arts Center, 1757 N. Kimball Ave., right off the 606, where Logan Square meets Humboldt Park. Collaboraction’s new “House of Belonging” will be a community hub presenting live theater, spoken word, music, dance, films, workshops and special events. To learn more, visit collaboraction.org, tune into Collaboraction Radio, live, every Saturday at 4 p.m. on WCPT AM 820, subscribe to the Collaboraction Radio podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts, or follow Collaboraction on Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and X.