Gun violence is a critical public health issue that we began researching back in 2016, with intent to better understand the impact it has on communities in our state. The statistics in the U.S. are stark: every day, 100 Americans are killed with guns. Women in the U.S. are 21 times more likely to be killed with a gun than women in other countries, and in an average month, 52 women are shot to death by their partners and many more are injured. Closer to home, the numbers are just as bleak...

Gun violence statistics
in Missouri

After realizing there was a lack of consistent, reliable information on gun violence across the state and that the field needed more development and coordination, we set out to test different community-based approaches to address this epidemic. After cultivating a few promising projects with our community partners, we publicly kicked off our gun violence prevention efforts in 2018.