HMG Crisis Storage & Suicide Prevention Awareness
NOTE: For those of you who are new here, Hold My Guns is an organization that connects responsible firearm owners with voluntary private, off-site storage options, through our national network of partners, during times of mental illness or personal crises. You can learn more about us by scrolling to the end of this page, or by visiting us at www.holdmyguns.org .
Dear Hold My Guns Family,
Thank you for your support to help us raise $5,000 for Hold My Guns' initial fundraising campaign! Because of your support, we were able to form our nonprofit corporation (the 501(c)(3) has been filed!), cover legal review fees for contracts and liability waivers, and make some headway on our pilot program!
We are again asking for your support.
Our arena just grew in leaps and bounds overnight.
On November 2nd, 2019, at the Second Amendment Rally in Washington, D.C. on the Capitol Lawn, two speakers mentioned Hold My Guns during their speeches. The event was covered by Newsweek and Breitbart.
On December 18th, 2019, NPR/PBS member stations WITF Harrisburg and WHYY Philadelphia ran a feature story on Hold My Guns ahead of schedule (it initially was to run after the New Year, but the topic is so relevant that it needed to to be published sooner). We were told that there a strong chance the feature will be picked up by NPR and aired to their international audience. We were blessed to be interviewed by Brett Sholtis, who served in the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in Kosovo. You can hear the interview of myself and co-founder Genevieve Jones, recorded at my local gun club where I serve as an RSO to a youth league, gunfire and all, at this link: https://www.witf.org/2019/12/18/two-firearms-safety-instructors-have-a-plan-to-prevent-suicides-among-gun-owners/.
It is not a surprise that the message is resonating with the public.
We knew from the very beginning that we had something special!
This national media coverage is exciting, but it is critical that it is met with our own professional awareness campaign. We have one shot at this, and it's important that we get it right....and quickly. As you know, the issue of firearms and mental health is a delicate one and the messaging must convey that there is no dichotomy between freedom and compassion.
It is with that goal in mind that we are seeking an additional $20,000 in funding to increase the reach of our message.
The time has come for Hold My Guns' program implementation. There is a desperate need for a voluntary off-site storage option, and we are excited to bridge this gap in a way that not only protects property and civil rights but also empowers gun owners and their family members to voluntarily take a break from lethal means and seek and receive treatment.
While suicide prevention was the inspiration behind the Hold My Guns program, it is not the only scenario where our behind-the-counter offsite storage makes sense. Hold My Guns is also a voluntary non-legislative answer for accidental shooting prevention and keeping lawfully owned firearms out of the hands of criminals through theft prevention. Whether the gun owner is selling their home and is holding a public open house, is being deployed to serve our Country, or perhaps has grandchildren staying for the holidays, knowing that their firearms are being kept safe offsite at a trusted gun shop can give peace of mind.
The reality is that there are numerous potential reasons why firearms may be stored off-site, and our professional, voluntary service will be as non-judgmental and ubiquitous with normal business at a gun shop as taking a valuable to a safety deposit box at a bank.
This neutral approach is built into the program, but it will require that our storage partners receive direction and training from our organization so that they are aware of best practices in a variety of scenarios.
With this funding, we will be able to offset costs for:
Hold My Guns awareness campaign
-Share the Hold My Guns mission and storage location information with the public
-Create a professional video featuring the Hold My Guns story including a demonstration of the firearms storage process. This video will be utilized for both marketing and training purposes.
-Upgrade the website to a fast, static page where guests can quickly learn more about our organization, educational opportunities, and locate their nearest Hold My Guns storage partner.
-Create professional brochures to be given to guests at events and meetings with stakeholders such as veterans organizations, medical and mental health professionals, and gun shops.
-Create a media-relations package to answer inquiries in a way that we have control over our messaging ahead of interviews.
-Presence as a nonprofit organization at key stakeholder industry events (we have SHOT Show covered (see you there!) but need to cover expenses with three events in April: NRA Annual Meeting/Exhibition, The Gun Collective's Panel Discussion and Exhibition, and GOA's Gun-A-Thon ...with more events coming soon.
-Travel to partnering gunshops during our pilot launch to provide training and open-house style events to share the program with their respective communities.
Provide funding for necessary operational expenses
-Office-related expenses (boring, but vital!) such as phone bills, web hosting, software expenses, meetings expenses, printing, etc.
-On-going annual insurance coverage premiums
-On-going legal review and counsel via Firearms Industry Consulting Group
Whether you are able to contribute financially or share our campaign to let others know about this important cause, we thank you from the depths of our hearts. Community involvement and teamwork is what this mission requires.
With gratitude,
Sarah Joy Albrecht
Founder and President
Hold My Guns
& NRA-certified Range Safety Officer
For more information, to partner, or to volunteer with our organization, please contact [email redacted] .
Find us online at:
Website: www.holdmyguns.org
Facebook: www.facebook.com/HoldMyGunsOrg
Instagram: www.instagram.com/HoldMyGunsOrg
Telegram: www.t.me/HoldMyGunsOrg
What is Hold My Guns? How Does it Work?
Hold My Guns is a program that connects responsible firearm owners with private, off-site storage options, through our national network of partners, during times of mental illness or personal crises.
Our goal is to prevent suicide and violence by facilitating a place to store firearms while gun owners or their loved ones receive care. To be human is to go through ups-and-downs in life. We believe that times of hardship should be met with an outpouring of compassion and camaraderie and education, not fear-mongering and automatic confiscation of constitutional rights.
The Hold My Guns service is a voluntary, proactive, self-governance, non-legislative answer to prevent suicide by firearms, accidental shooting prevention, and keeping lawfully owned firearms out of the hands of criminals through theft prevention. The service can be recommended to gun owners and their families by medical and mental health care professionals, realtors, first responders, veterans organizations, family members, and more.
Utilizing existing storage available in partnering gun shops and FFLs, Hold My Guns is a low-cost, easily-scalable solution. The firearms owner retains property rights during storage and then completes a background check upon pick-up to ensure there are no outstanding warrants, Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs), Protection from Abuse Orders (PFAs), etc., that would prevent the individual from having possession rights to the firearm. This protocol lawfully repurposes existing ATF consignment regulations and procedures.
In addition, Hold My Guns will align with our storage partners to offer educational programs and campaigns to communities. These programs and corresponding campaigns will cover topics such as suicide prevention, gun safety courses with a mental health component, reducing incidents of gun negligence, and educating first responders and medical practitioners on options for firearm safety and storage during their patient or client's mental health crises.