On Friday, June 6, Saint Francis Hospital hosted a ceremony in honor of National Gun Violence Awareness Day. The annual event honors victims of gun violence and raises awareness of the important day. Local and state leaders and community partners gathered in Chawla Auditorium for the speaking program, led by Valerie Powell-Stafford, MHSA, FACHE, President of Saint Francis.
Local and state leaders and community partners gathered in Chawla Auditorium for a ceremony recognizing Wear Orange and National Gun Violence Awareness Day.
Carolyn Alessi, Regional Director, Community Health and Well-Being, Trinity Health Of New England, and LaShawn Robinson-Nuhu, Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program Specialist, spoke on behalf of Saint Francis about the work being done in the community. Several community organizations were represented, including COMPASS Youth Collaborative, Mothers United Against Violence, and CT Against Gun Violence, as well as representatives from the City of Hartford Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program. Elected officials, including U.S. Senator Chris Murphy, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, Lieutenant Governor Susan Bysiewicz, and Hartford Mayor Arunan Arulampalam also addressed the audience.
The national #WearOrange movement was inspired by friends of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old high school student killed by gunfire in 2013. Hadiya’s friends began wearing orange, the color hunters wear to signal to others not to shoot them. Orange has since become the defining color of gun violence prevention efforts nationwide.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Fatal Injury Data, more than 100 Americans are killed by guns every day, and firearms are listed as the leading cause of death for American children and teens.
