MetroHealth to Host Second Gun Violence Awareness Day Event

Once again, The MetroHealth System will lead Northeast Ohio’s observance of national Gun Violence Awareness Day on Friday, June 6, bringing attention to the public health crisis that has become the leading cause of death among those under 20.

MetroHealth’s Gun Violence Prevention Committee will host a resource fair in The Glick Center’s Bank of America Performing Arts area from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The event, in its second year, is organized around the Committee’s “What’s Your Plan?” initiative, which encourages members of the community to answer these questions:

• If you have a firearm in your home, What’s Your Plan for safe and responsible storage?
• If you are a member of the community, What’s Your Plan if you find someone injured?
• If you or a loved one had an injury or traumatic event, What’s Your Plan for recovery?
• If you are a healthcare provider, What’s Your Plan to counsel your patients on safe firearm usage?

The June 6 resource fair will bring together MetroHealth providers, caregivers and community partners to help answer those questions through resources, support and education.

The Gun Violence Prevention Committee, established by MetroHealth last year to bring together community partners working to end gun violence, is aligned with the national Wear Orange campaign, a movement that began as a tribute to 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton, who was shot and killed on a Chicago playground in 2013, when she was caught in the crossfire of a gang shooting.

After her death, her childhood friends began wearing orange in her memory – the color worn by hunters to protect themselves from stray gunfire. Now, orange is worn on the first Friday of June to call for an end to gun violence and honor the lives taken by it.

“MetroHealth and its staff of caregivers are all too familiar with the suffering and despair inflicted on our community by gun violence,” said Charles Modlin, MD, Co-Chair of the Gun Violence Prevention Committee. “Along with our community partners, we are determined to find ways to end this public health crisis and the destruction it brings.” 

While the nationwide rate of firearm deaths has declined steadily since the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of deaths from gun violence in Cleveland in 2023 rose to the highest rate in five years – more than 45 per 100,000 residents. The city recorded 102 gunshot wounds per 100,000 residents during the same period. Many of those injuries were seen in MetroHealth’s Level 1 Trauma Unit, which cared for 447 patients with gunshot wounds from throughout the region in 2024.

MetroHealth is the leading Level 1 Adult Trauma Center and Level 2 Pediatric Trauma Center in the region, and its Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Institute is among the highest rated in the nation. So, MetroHealth providers and caregivers see the impact of gun violence first-hand.

They’re with survivors of gun violence and their families from the first frantic moments following a shooting through acute care, recovery and rehabilitation. And because gun violence leaves wounds that can’t be seen, MetroHealth operates the nationally recognized Trauma Recovery Center (TRC), the only one of its kind in Northeast Ohio that is embedded in a hospital setting. The TRC helps survivors and their families rebuild lives that have been shattered by gun violence, offering services including counseling, trauma recovery coaching, peer mentorship, victim advocacy and care coordination.

The June 6 Gun Violence Awareness Day Event will feature speakers including MetroHealth President and CEO Christine Alexander Rager; Dr. Modlin; Pastor Tony Minor, Manager of MetroHealth’s Faith Community Outreach; Katurah Thompson, Community Health Worker (CHW) with the TRC; Trauma Surgeon and Committee Co-Chair Vanessa Ho; as well as Cleveland Division of Police Deputy Chief Ali Pillow and community organizations M-PAC, Cleveland Peacemakers, Cleveland ICONS, New Era Cleveland, Moms Demand Action and Project LIFT Services. Survivors of gun violence will be present to share their experiences.

Following the presentations, attendees will have an opportunity to connect with speakers and explore resources.

“The Gun Violence Prevention Committee was created to address the public health crisis of gun violence and firearm injuries, especially those happening to our children,” said Anthony Zalewski, RN, Injury Prevention and Outreach Coordinator in the Division of Trauma and project manager for the Gun Violence Prevention Committee. “We are passionate about this event, and we hope to see it continue to grow in size and scope each year.”