Fellow Advocate,

Firearm suicide is responsible for over half of all gun deaths in Pennsylvania,¹ impacting rural areas from the Poconos to the coal region the most. It is a crisis that affects our friends, family, and neighbors, but it’s too often hidden by a dark cloak of silence. 

But, as you and I both know, sunlight is the best disinfectant.

That’s where our new Director of Firearm Suicide Prevention, Dr. Jay Breneman, comes in. Over the next three years, he will launch an innovative approach to develop narratives so that those most impacted by firearm suicide see it as the crisis it is–and one driven by easy access to firearms without protection. This investment in the gun violence prevention movement is made possible with generous support from the Stoneleigh Foundation.²

We need your help to make a difference! If you or someone you know has lost a loved one to firearm suicide, Dr. Jay Breneman wants to hear your story. Share your experiences with Jay here and help build our understanding so we can help save lives. 

As a combat veteran, Jay experienced first-hand the painful loss of his fellow soldiers and veterans from firearm suicide, so he deeply understands how self-inflicted violence can destroy families and communities. As our new Director of Firearm Suicide Prevention Policy, he will develop a comprehensive policy, messaging, and coalition strategy to prevent firearm suicides in PA, integrating it across our current programs to end gun violence. And he’ll help shift the narrative about gun suicide by elevating the stories of Pennsylvanians who’ve been impacted by this all-too-common tragedy.

With Jay on board, we will bring this crisis to the light, and together with community leaders and experts, work to eradicate it in Pennsylvania. Under his capable leadership, we are opening a powerful chapter of cooperative policy, organizing, and storytelling to address the largest, yet most concealed, component of our gun violence epidemic. I cannot wait to get started, and please join me in welcoming Jay to the team!

Ready to work,

Adam Garber
Executive Director
CeaseFirePA Education Fund