ST. LOUIS — The St. Louis Office of Violence Prevention was founded in July 2022. It's a division of the St. Louis Department of Public Safety with ongoing partnerships to continue gun violence prevention efforts. One of those efforts at today's community kickback was free gun locks.
Despite Saturday's hot temperatures, the St. Louis Office of Violence Prevention Kickback was packed with St. Louisans. It happens every third Saturday of the month with free food and plenty of activities for children. Wilford Pinkney serves as the commissioner for the office.
"Every time you come out here, you look in the face of a young child, a mother, grandmother, or a father, and you see they can come out, have fun and see something they may not be used to happening," said Pinkney.
Pinkney says, St. Louis Office of Violence Prevention's mission is to spread messages about secure firearm storage and violence intervention programs to make St. Louis neighborhoods safer.
Keontae Wilbourn and his family were one of the dozens at Marquette Park in Dutchtown during the Saturday event.
"A lot of people have guns but don't know anything about gun safety," said Wilbourn. "It's about being able to show them, these locks can help especially with accidental trigger pulls."
Diamond Diva Empowerment Foundation was one of dozens of community partners at the events, offering free resources for people in domestic violence relationships.
Its founder, Eddie Ross has a team of nearly 75 people who help families who need first and last month's rent and safe places to stay— if they're in a relationship that puts their safety at risk.
"We want to make sure the community knows: We're here, and they can access the resources. There's a lot of resources out there, and it gets kind of troublesome trying to access some of the resources," said Ross.
The kickbacks will be in different St. Louis neighborhoods. The next one, on Sept.16, is scheduled to take place in Columbus Square Park from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
"If people see us all coming together and working then — when we talk about communities needing to come together — it rings a little better. It rings hollow if you can't come together and collaborate," said Pinkney.
