Sandy Hook Promise: The "Human" Side of the Gun Debate

Last week, another school shooting took place in Parkland, Florida, and cut short the lives of 17 high-school students.  The epidemic of school violence is a public health issue and warrants development and implementation of evidence-based prevention strategies.  Each school shooting begins long before the fatal shots are fired; studies show most have been planned up to 6 months beforehand.  The answer to gun violence cannot be found in the halls of Congress; the responsibility to protect our children lies with every parent, teacher, politician, student, and community member in America.  It is time to direct our efforts toward preventing violence BEFORE it happens by recognizing the warning signs of a child at risk and intervening. We must change the conversation about gun violence to alter the course of the future for our children.

On December 14, 2012, 20 children and six adults were gunned down inside Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.  A core group of parents who lost children that tragic day saw past their grief and created Sandy Hook Promise (SHP), a non-partisan national nonprofit organization focused on preventing gun violence BEFORE it occurs. SHP has trained 2 million adults across 50 states.  Since inception, their programs have helped stop multiple school shootings and suicides, reduced bullying and victimization, and ensured hundreds of youth receive mental health and wellness assistance.

Their three-part program is extraordinarily simple and effective. 

1.      Know the Signs to identify when a child is feeling alienated and connect with them by “starting with hello” and “saying something” to a trusted adult.

2.      Educate parents, teachers, and community members using evidence-based violence prevention strategies. 

3.      Focus on the “human” side of gun violence and be “above the politics.” 

“Start with Hello” is a program which encourages social inclusion and community connection. Our children can be taught to recognize isolation, marginalization, and rejection in their peers.  Parents and teachers can create a more inclusive school culture by training children to reach out to those who seem lonely and support growth of their coping skills.  Adverse childhood experiences can devastate even the most resilient among us.  The value of connectedness between children cannot be overstated.

 “Say Something” is designed for middle and high school-aged children to better recognize the warning signs of escalating behavior on social media in particular.   When adolescents are struggling, they tend to confide in their peers, many of whom are not equipped to intervene.  The second part of this program teaches young people to notify a trusted adult with their concerns.  By looking out for one another, and taking all threats seriously, whether written, spoken, in photo or video form, our schools and communities will be made safer. 

Safety Assessment and Intervention (SAI) is a cornerstone of the Sandy Hook Promise program that was developed by Dr. Cornell at the University of Virginia and has been rigorously evaluated for more than a decade.  SAI trains multidisciplinary teams within schools and communities to identify, assess, and respond to threats of violence while paying special attention to address the underlying conflict which led to concerning behavior in the first place.  Scientific studies show SAI-trained teams are capable of evaluating threats, distinguishing when they are serious, and intervening to prevent violent acts.

Hilary Clinton once said, “there’s no such thing as other people’s children.”   Every child is mine.  Every child is yours.  Every child adds value to the world.  By preventing just one child from bringing a gun to school, we could transform the life of not only that child, but also every student in attendance that day, plus every teacher, administrator, parent, grandparent, and community member working to support vulnerable young people.  

Laws will not change the mindset of a school shooter; we can only make an impact by altering the outlook of the school shooter.  It is time for meaningful action where we can find consensus.  It is too late to go back and save the children who were already gunned down at their schools, however we should honor their lives by supporting programs like Knowing the Signs, focusing on the delivery of mental health services to children and adolescents, and protecting at-risk individuals from firearm access and ownership.  We must talk with each other and our children about gun violence before more children die.

You can learn more about the Sandy Hook promise at www.sandyhookpromise.org. Additionally, I urge Gov. Jay Inslee and Washington State Superintendent of Public Instruction Chris Reykdahl to review the Sandy Hook Promise program and consider sharing the materials with every school district in Washington State.