"What's Up with Guns"

Goal:

Locally and across the U.S., gun-related violence threatens the safety of our youth. In response to this epidemic, JMF developed an in-school program to create a dialogue on school safety that involves school staff, students, and their parents.

It is JMF's goal to share this program with schools throughout California that are interested in using it, at very little or no cost. Each school can use a stand-alone version of the presentation or their own presenters to implement the program according to their special needs.

Benefits:

"What's Up with Guns" teaches kids to avoid guns and arms them with steps to take if they know a student has a gun or is trying to obtain one. It also makes young people aware of the chain reaction of tragic events that occur after a shooting — events that not only effect those involved but also the entire student body and surrounding communities.

The program comes with a teacher's companion piece for further classroom discussion on gun-related violence among youth. More specifically, the piece encourages kids to get involved with their parents, teachers, and administrators in drafting safety policies for their schools.

We have also developed an assessment piece to gauge the effectiveness of the program and facilitate future improvements.

Description:

Developed for school assemblies, "What's Up with Guns" is a gun education program that tells a compelling story about a teen who uses his parents' gun to kill a student at school. The wide-reaching effects of his actions, as well as how those involved could have prevented the tragedy, are covered in great detail.

The presentation is divided into four parts: the events leading up to the shooting, the capture and arrest of the students involved, emergency medical treatment of the victim, and the legal process and conviction. Each segment is presented by a knowledgeable expert.

Target Audience:

Middle School Students
High School Students
School Teachers and Counselors
Parents

Presenters:

Christy Haynes
Presentation Facilitator
M.A. Psychology

Mike Scott
School Resource Officer
Hayward Police Department

Manuel Keaton
Registered Nurse
Eden Medical Center Trauma Unit

Chris Lamiero
Deputy District Attorney
Alameda County District Attorney's Office

Notation:

JMF partnered with the Hayward Unified School District, the Hayward Police Department's Youth and Family Services Division, the Alameda County District Attorney's Office and Eden Medical Center to develop this program. The teacher's companion piece was drafted by April Pavlik, M.A., Sports Psychology. Christy Haines, who develops youth outreach programs in Santa Barbara, created the assessment piece. Christy has a Master's Degree in Psychology.

Working closely with Alexandra Matteucci and these collaborators, Tommy Dew Design provided script development and designed the presentation.

Photographs were taken by Tracey Prever.

Dan Dillman and Dan Bell of Xzault Media Group developed the custom soundtrack.

Contact Information:

Take the first step to making your school safe by actively involving kids in this one-of-a-kind program.

The Joseph Matteucci Foundation
Attn: What's Up with Guns?
P.O. Box 20397
Castro Valley, CA 94546

Phone: (510) 889-7451
Fax: (510) 889-7465

Email: info@jmf4peace.org

Visit the What's Up With Guns website for more information.