Partnership for the Safety of Children Around Firearms

Store It Safe is a unique partnership of healthcare providers, firearm safety experts, and community organizations established to keep children safe from unintentional firearm deaths and teens safe from suicide by firearms. Young children are often curious and will touch anything, while teens are still learning to control impulses. Our goal is to inform families of risks so they can keep their children safe.

Reversing the Trend of Irreversible Actions

Half of all unintentional shooting deaths among children occur at home, and almost half occur in the home of a friend or relative

• Nationally, 1 out of 3 homes with kids has a firearm
• Nearly 1.7 million kids live in a home with a loaded and unlocked firearm
• ¼ of 3 and 4 year olds can pull a 10-pound trigger, and approximately 60% of handguns require trigger-pull strength of less than 5 pounds
• The number of children shot and killed by firearms has an upward trend in the past 6 years, according to the Franklin County Child Fatality Review

Quick Tips for Keeping Children Safe in the Home

Children over age two are mobile and curious, it’s important to set up your home to keep children safe. Here are a few ideas to consider:

1. Firearms should always be stored out of sight and locked when not in immediate possession of the owner.
2. Keep medicines, alcohol, and household cleaners out of a child’s reach.
3. Check for hazards in homes your child may visit.

• View the Ohio AAP’s Store It Safe Materials:

  • • Store It Safe Physician Handout 
    • Store It Safe Parent Handout
    • Partnership One Pager for Physicians
    •  Partnership One Pager for Families (English) (Spanish) (Somali)
    • Store It Safe Toolkit-Comprehensive package of materials to participate in Store It Safe Awareness Campaign
    • Store It Safe Child Education Module 

• Helpful Resources From Other Organizations
  • For Providers
    • Firearm Guidance for Healthcare Providers
  • For Families
    • Project ChildSafe (A program of the National Sports Shooting Foundation)
    • Talk Saves Lives (A program of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and National Spots Shooting Foundation)

• WANT TO BE PART OF THE SOLUTION?

  

  • Click here to make a donation and support the Store It Safe Program
  • Contact Melissa Wervey Arnold, Ohio AAP Chief Executive Officer, at via email or (614) 846-6258 to learn about becoming involved with the Foundation Pillar of the Ohio AAP

Members of the Partnership for Safety of Children Around Firearms: