BALTIMORE, September 17, 2024—Kennedy Krieger Institute recently began distributing free gun locks to patient families, staff, and community members from various locations at their Broadway campus.
The distribution campaign is one way the Institute’s clinicians hope to make an impact on the high number of pediatric gun deaths and injuries. Since 2020, gun violence has been the number one cause of death among children in the United States under the age of 18, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“At Kennedy Krieger, we treat many patients with rare, neurological conditions for which there is no cure. But in the case of gun deaths and injuries, there are steps we know can help,” said Michelle Melicosta, MD, MPH MSc, associate chief medical officer at Kennedy Krieger. “We must keep guns out of the hands of children. That means if we have a gun in our homes, we must practice safe storage at all times.”
This month the Institute received a grant from the Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy to purchase 800 locks and distribute them. Patients, families and others who want a free gun lock can request one from the security desks at the Institute’s medical buildings at 707, 716, and 801 N. Broadway, 1741 Ashland Ave., and at Kennedy Krieger School’s Fairmount Campus, 1750 E. Fairmount Ave.
While staff will record the number of locks distributed, they will not record the names of those who receive the locks, keeping the process anonymous.
“Gun owners may be reluctant to discuss this with a health care provider,” Dr. Melicosta said. “What we want to focus on is storing that gun safely and doing what we can to keep the kids in our lives as safe as possible.”
During the pandemic, firearm purchases in the U.S. increased, and as a result, there are now 30 million children in the nation living in a household with a purchased firearm, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. At the same time, Kennedy Krieger’s clinicians began seeing more patients with gun-related injuries, which motivated them to consider ways to reduce gun violence risks for children.
Along with Dr. Melicosta, staff from the Child Life/Therapeutic Recreation Department, Patient and Family Experience, Social Work, and the International Center for Spinal Cord Injury as well as with nurses from the Institute’s Specialized Health Needs Interagency Collaboration initiated the lock distribution campaign.
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About Kennedy Krieger Institute:
Kennedy Krieger Institute, an internationally known nonprofit organization located in the greater Baltimore-Washington, D.C., region, transforms the lives of more than 27,000 individuals a year through inpatient and outpatient medical, behavioral health and wellness therapies; home and community services; school-based programs; training and education for professionals; and advocacy. Kennedy Krieger provides a wide range of services for children, adolescents and adults with diseases, disorders and injuries that impact the nervous system, ranging from mild to severe. The Institute is home to a team of investigators who contribute to the understanding of how disorders develop while at the same time pioneering new interventions and methods of early diagnosis, prevention and treatment. Visit KennedyKrieger.org for more information about Kennedy Krieger.
