One Lexington expands gun violence prevention work to include accidental shootings and suicide

LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX NEWS) — A community forum on firearm safety is bringing people in Lexington together to talk about gun safety as the group ONE Lexington looks to expand its approach toward gun violence.

ONE Lexington is broadening how it addresses gun violence and is asking the community to help shape that work.

"How can we get more input from the community, but then also how can we inform the community on the importance of gun safety," said Devine Carama, director at ONE Lexington.

Carama says the goal is to put more attention on prevention before someone gets hurt. He says ONE Lexington is doing so by looking at what happens before a conflict escalates to the point of someone reaching for a gun.

"It's not just about conflict-based gun violence, but we have a lot of young people who are accidentally shooting themselves and others. Suicide prevention is something that we got to focus on because that's gun violence as well," Carama said.

Carama says the next step isn't just expanding the work, but making sure the community helps shape it.

"If we're not looking ahead, if we're not looking to address things when they're small, that's when they begin to fester," Carama said.

He says what they hear from residents could help ONE Lexington decide where to focus its resources next, with the goal of preventing gun violence before it happens.

"We need to learn and so we wanna hear from families who've been impacted by accidental shootings and suicides, because those experiences will inform the work moving forward," Carama said.