March 4, 2010
For the past four years, LCWA has been proud to provide PR service to UCAN, a community-based social service organization that focuses on healing trauma, educating children and families, and preventing violence. This week we worked with UCAN to announce the alarming results of its annual “Teen Gun Survey.” According to the survey:
- One in four teens (26%) know someone who has been shot.
- More than one in three teens (35%) fear being shot someday.
- One third of teens (34%) said they can get a gun if they really wanted one.
- Four out of five teens (83%) agree that young people would benefit from more violence-prevention programs.
We planned and held a press conference at the UCAN headquarters in Chicago. During the conference, five teens detailed their own experiences with guns and asked adults to take action to help stop the violence. Supporting the teens at the event were U.S. Congressman Michael Quigley and Illinois State Senator Donne Trotter. The press conference generated great coverage in the media, with stories appearing in the Chicago Tribune, WLS-TV (ABC), WGBO-TV (Univision) and WGN-AM.
While I love all of the work we do at LCWA, I have to admit that getting attention for UCAN and its great programs to help prevent violence always has a special place in my heart. For more information about the “Teen Gun Survey” results, click here.
