SAFE
The Trace Shares SAFE's Mission for U.S. ...
The Trace Shares SAFE's Mission for U.S. Medical Schools

Missed Fall StandSAFE? Watch Here.

On Tuesday, September 9 at 8 PM Eastern Time, Dr. Michelle Sandberg sat down with Dr. Brian H. Williams for a beautifully moderated conversation.

One of SAFE’s two annual events that are open to all clinicians and trainees. Dr. Williams is a member of SAFE’s National Board of Directors, and he and Dr. Sandberg, the Chair of SAFE’s National Advisory Board, shared the critical shift from federal to state policies in firearm injury prevention work.

Dr. Williams is a trauma surgeon, a USAF veteran, former congressional health policy advisor, and nationally recognized expert in gun violence prevention and healthcare disparities; writer and bestselling author of "The Bodies Keep Coming"

You may purchase his book directly from the publisher - please use Promo Code for 30% off: SAFE2025

SAFE hosting Collaborative Workshop in Milwaukee on Firearm Injury Prevention and Care Curriculum

By working together, we can develop an effective and culturally responsive curriculum that will equip future physicians to address the multifaceted but addressable issue of firearm injury and death.

We are eager to share our Collaborative Workshops on Firearm Injury Prevention Curriculum opportunities with you.

Learn more about SAFE’s collaborative curriculum-building workshops and register for future events planned in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (October 2025, Northern California, and Texas (both in 2026).

https://www.standsafe.org/educating-caregivers

Dr. James Bigham (standing at left) moderating workshop in Madison, WI in March 2025.

Announcing the Education on Policy Initiative!

SAFE is pleased to announce our new Education on Policy Initiative! The goal of this initiative is to provide education to healthcare providers on firearm injury prevention policy focusing on state law and policy. Understanding the policies in place in our states is foundational in advocating for comprehensive secure firearm storage policies and practices in our communities. Click on the button below to explore the new webpage!

SAFE August Newsletter

August 2025 SAFE Newsletter

  • Table of Contents:

    • What have SAFE Chapters been up to?

    • SAFE’s Education on Policy Solutions Series: Secure Storage in 6-parts

    • Workshops on Firearm Injury Prevention Curriculum

    • Register for Fall StandSAFE with Dr. Brian H. Williams

    • Get a SAFE Scrub Top

    • “Clinicians and Firearms” Course Distribution Packet

Read more here

SAFE Welcomes Ariana Ali, M.D. Candidate, Class of 2027, to the Board of Directors

Ariana Ali is a 3rd year medical student at The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences. After living through the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Shooting in Parkland, Florida in 2018, she became a passionate advocate for firearm injury prevention through her own nonprofit organization at the time. This experience inspired Ariana to pursue medicine and public health with a focus on advocacy. Through SAFE, Ariana hopes to reach future and current healthcare professionals in order to promote firearm safety and injury prevention through evidence-based practices and training.

SAFE Launches Firearm Safes and Locks Project

One of SAFE’s goal is to help prevent unnecessary firearm injury by supporting our medical school chapters’ procurement and distribution of firearm safes and locks.

SAFE is pleased to announce that we are launching our Firearm Safes and Locks Initiative this year, which include resources for our clinicians, our medical school chapters, and our SAFE community members who are interested in participating!

By putting these devices in the hands of our healthcare providers and directly to firearm owners, SAFE is committed to promoting secure storage culture and responsibility. 


Register for Sept. 9 National Event - Stand SAFE - State Policy Shift

SAFE is honored to host Dr. Brian H. Williams, an Air Force veteran, trauma surgeon, former congressional health policy advisor, and recent candidate for US Congress in Dallas. 


Dr. Williams, a member of SAFE’s National Board of Directors, will be sharing the critical shift from federal to state policies in firearm injury prevention work. Moreover, he will be discussing core themes from his best-selling memoir, The Bodies Keep Coming: Dispatches from a Black Trauma Surgeon on Racism, Violence, and How We Heal, including the intersectionality of race, racism, and healthcare as well as the broader future of the firearm violence epidemic.

Doctors learn gun safety to improve patient conversation

to read the full article, click on photo or:
https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/milwaukee/news/2025/05/12/firearm--gun--shooting--doctor

'We have a chance to actually shift the culture': Doctors learn gun safety to improve patient conversations

BY Alyson Bruner in Madison Spectrum News 1

PUBLISHED 7:00 AM ET May 30, 2025

MADISON, Wis. — About four in 10 U.S. adults live in a household with a gun, according to Pew Research Center.

Thirty-two percent of those people say they personally own one.

That’s why Dr. James Bigham, a family doctor in Madison, is on a mission to teach more medical students, doctors and behavioral therapists about guns, specifically, how to safely lock and store them. He said his goal is to make sure firearm safety is part of routine checkups and counseling appointments. 

Dr. Bigham is the Vice Chair of Scrubs Addressing the Firearm Epidemic.

Read the full article click on photo: https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/milwaukee/news/2025/05/12/firearm--gun--shooting--doctor

Sign-on to CVI Healthcare Open Letter: Restore Critical Funding for Community Violence Intervention Programs in Healthcare

This open letter urges leaders to restore federal funding for Community Violence Intervention (CVI) programs in the healthcare space which were recently cut by the Trump Administration. CVI saves lives through proven, community-led strategies. Without funding, critical services are at risk. 

You can individually sign and are not required to sign on the behalf of any organization. 

Sign on to show your support and join the call to restore CVI funding in the healthcare space.

In Defense of Equity, Inclusion, and Community Safety

At Scrubs Addressing the Firearm Epidemic (SAFE), we believe in the dignity, safety, and humanity of every individual—especially those returning to our communities after incarceration or hospitalization. We write today to express our deep concern over recent actions by the federal government that roll back critical efforts in firearm injury prevention and in diversity, equity, inclusion (DEI).

Policies that silence efforts to address the root causes of firearm injury and limit DEI initiatives do not make our communities safer—they make them more vulnerable. These actions ignore the lived realities of the communities we serve, where structural inequities, systemic racism, and concentrated violence are not abstract concepts but daily challenges.

SAFE was founded on the belief that safe transitions begin with inclusive systems—ones that recognize and respond to the unique needs of every person. This includes building health systems and reentry pathways grounded in equity, trauma-informed care, and community-based solutions. It includes investing in programs that prevent firearm injury and violence, not defunding or denying them.

We remain steadfast in our mission: to disrupt cycles of violence and incarceration by centering healing, restoring opportunity, and advancing justice. We call on our partners—healthcare systems, policymakers, advocates, and neighbors—to stand with us in upholding the values of equity and safety for all.

Now is not the time to retreat from hard truths. It is time to double down on what works: compassion, accountability, and a commitment to justice.

In Solidarity,

SAFE National Board of Directors