Gun violence as a public health issue
Another seven people have died because someone who is emotionally unbalanced opened fire in a public place, in this case a place of worship.
Is it time yet to talk about gun violence as a public health issue and to try and figure out how we deal with this?
I know it’s a complicated issue, but gunfire is the 12th leading cause of death in the United States, and more than half of all suicides are by gunshot.
Many of the victims of gunshot wounds are children who are in the wrong place at the wrong time or are playing with someone’s loaded gun.
Many of the gun deaths in the United States would be preventable if we could just agree to a few reasonable restrictions on gun manufacture and sales. But the NRA and gun manufacturers have a whole lot of lobbying money and legislators fear their power.
I am NOT talking about taking away everyone’s guns, I promise.
We have nearly 10,000 deaths from gunshot wounds in the United States every year, and according to the National Institutes of Health’s Public Health Reports, there are no reliable statistics on non-fatal gun injuries. No other country not at war even comes close.
Our country has become a battleground because of our refusal to have a sensible conversation about guns. When do we stop being hysterical about Second Amendment rights and start to worry about the rights of the rest of us not being shot because we’re in the range of a disturbed person? When do we think about the safety of people in churches, in malls, offices, even in their own homes?
We can reduce the number of innocent people who are killed each year. We can limit access to people with a history of violence or with psychiatric illnesses, we can enforce the laws we have concerning background checks and waiting periods. We can close gun show loopholes and take assault weapons off the market. No one needs an assault rifle — you can’t even eat an animal killed with one, for crying out loud. Assault rifles are meant for one thing: to kill people quickly and in large quantities. I don’t think the Founding Fathers intended each of us to keep an arsenal in our homes.
I’m not against responsible gun ownership. I’ve gone target shooting and enjoyed it, although I probably would enjoy a BB gun as much as I enjoyed shooting a hunting rifle or a handgun. I’m pretty sure I could stop an intruder with a couple of well-placed BBs — if I had the presence of mind to shoot straight, which I’m not at all certain I would.
Gun violence has become a very real public health issue. We need to put on our grown-up underpants and talk about it seriously instead of allowing the NRA and gun manufacturers to own the conversation. This is about our lives and our public safety in our schools, theaters, churches and on our streets.
Tags: Patient Pals & Family Friends
Life o' Mike has a peer support program for people with one or more serious or chronic medical issues or disabilities.
We aim to reduce isolation and fear among people who have conditions, including psychiatric illness, HIV/AIDS, diabetes, mild dementia or other cognitive disorder or disability, thereby reducing depression and complications as people learn to improve self-management of their medical conditions.
Patient Pals help alleviate feelings of isolation and frustration. They can help people develop a list of questions to ask the doctor and then accompany the person to the doctor to make sure all the questions are answered, taking notes to be sure the person understands the doctor’s answers.
Our trained volunteers also accompany their “Pals” to art exhibits, movies and walks outdoors, meet for coffee, call to check in and more.
Our Pals have experienced weight loss, improvement in diabetes, HIV, psoriasis, depression and more, just because they have someone who cares about them. Some relationships develop into longer-term friendships; other Pals move on to more independent lives.
Family Friends are there to help caregivers and other family members grow into their new role.
We need volunteers, who are asked to donate a minimum of one hour a week. Training is free and includes information on active listening, ways to help and when to know more help is needed.
And of course, we need funding.
To learn more, call Leslie Boyd at 828-243-6712 or e-mail lifeomike@gmail.com.
Life o’ Mike honors Joe Eblen
Life o' Mike presented its first Michael T. Danforth Community Service Award to Joe Eblen at a luncheon on June 8, in the Friendship Hall of First Congregational Church, 20 Oak St., Asheville.
Joe, seen here with Leslie Boyd, left, and his wife, Bobbie, has spent his life helping children and families, both as a coach and game official for more than 60 years, and as founder of Eblen Charities.
Start From Seed
Life o' Mike has a new program- Start from Seed (SFS).
SFS is a volunteer doula program aimed at providing non-medical, comprehensive support to low income, high-risk women and families of Buncombe County focusing on three areas:
1. We help new doulas with certification and training in return for their participation as a volunteer doula for SFS
2. We mentor volunteer doulas with their first few clients
3. Our volunteer doulas provide birth and postpartum doula services to low income, high risk moms, providing support and tools to empower them as a new parent.
A birth doula is a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth; a postpartum doula provides emotional and practical support during the postpartum period.
Start from Seed clients are referred to us from the Buncombe County Department of Health’s Nurse-Family Partnership Program, Western North Carolina Community Health Services, and Mission Hospital. The Program is intended and designed for growing clients’ inner strength and helping them gain empowerment to help them cope with the emotional, physical and mental challenges of childbirth, labor, and motherhood.
Our new moms and their infants have many needs. If you would like to help them get off to a good start, please visit our Start from Seed web site: Start from Seed, or call Program Director Chelsea Kouns at 804-814-9946.