Cities Across the Country Turn Green as Safe States and Other Organizations Unify Their Voices to Prevent Injuries and Violence
ATLANTA, November 16, 2022 (Newswire.com) - When the sun goes down Friday, Nov. 18, darkened skylines across the country will be peppered with a warm hue of green as bridges, monuments, government buildings and businesses join hospitals and trauma centers and become beacons of light to raise awareness about the burden of injuries and violence, the number one killers of people 1-44 years. It will mark the end of the 3rd National Injury Prevention Day (NIPD), a day where Safe States Alliance and the nation's top prevention advocates join forces and push for change.
Safe States joins other leading injury and violence prevention (IVP) organizations, such as the Injury Free Coalition for Kids, Safe Kids Worldwide, the American Trauma Society, the American Academy of Pediatrics, Be SMART -- a program of Everytown for Gun Safety Support Fund, the Society for Advancement of Violence and Injury Research, the Trauma Center Association of America, JPMA Cares, and I'm Safe, to empower and equip communities to make a difference. Access the full list of organizations signing an NIPD letter of support here: https://bit.ly/NIPDletter
We are working for change in a year where lives were needlessly taken in places deemed safe: homes, playgrounds, schools, and grocery stores. Together we want to end the heartache left by preventable injuries and deaths from suicides, motor vehicle crashes, drownings, fires, drug overdoses, and more than 40 mass shootings.
"It takes all of us to make a difference," Barbara Barlow, MD, Professor of Surgery in Epidemiology at Columbia University and Founder of the Injury Free Coalition for Kids said. "We must promote the use of safe practices, using safety products, and implement strong legislative policies."
NIPD will kick-off at 10:00 a.m. EST with a one-hour virtual event, featuring US Public Health Service Captain Christopher Jones, PharmD, DrPH, MPH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Acting Director for the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Dr. Jones joins the country's top IVP organizations to sound the alarm about the need for and promise of prevention.
At 1:00 p.m. EST, the public is invited to take part in a live national conversation about the country's top injury and violence concerns on Twitter using the hashtag #BeInjuryFree. Throughout the day IVP professionals from coast to coast will lead activities and distribute tools to create safer environments. Learn more about scheduled NIPD activities at https://injuryfree.org/nationalinjurypreventionday/2022.
"National Injury Prevention Day focuses on the fact that injuries and violence are predictable and preventable and that increased public health investments can both save lives and reduce health care costs," Safe States Executive Director, Richard Hamburg adds.
For more information about National Injury Prevention Day or to arrange an interview, please contact E. Lenita Johnson at 816-651-7777 or email estelljohnson@sbcglobal.net.
Source: Safe States Alliance
