ST. LOUIS — BJC HealthCare expanded its gun safety lock program in response to an increase in gunshot injuries among children in St. Louis.
On Wednesday, Karen Cloyd with Women’s Voices for Social Justice carried two boxes filled with gun locks into the Urban League.
Their volunteer-based program “Lock It for Love” provides gun safety education and free gun locks, but on a march smaller scale.
“We're losing a generation of children or at least a good part of them. If gun violence is the prevalent cause of death of children in the United States, we need to do something about it,” Cloyd said.
On Monday, BJC announced that its No Questions Asked gun lock program would expand to 20 more locations.
The effort comes after a record-breaking 163 children were treated there for gunshot wounds in 2022.
The hospital's program started in 2021 and has since given out more than 5,000 free gun locks, particularly from their kiosks located in the emergency room.
The gun locks are pre-packaged with literature explaining how to use them.
"Overjoyed to hear about it. Really glad that an organization like BJC which is so prevalent in our community and elsewhere is stepping up to take care of that for us. I mean. We're just a small part of gun storage safety people involved in the St. Louis area," Cloyd responded.
BJC conducted a follow-up survey of the pilot program back in 2021 and found 2/3 of the families, who received a gun lock, used it to safely store their firearms.
You can also request a gun lock through the hospital’s website.
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