Note: This email contains descriptions of gun violence and domestic violence.

John–

Gun violence isn't something that I talked about growing up. Not because
it didn't happen, but because it happened so often. On the news, on social
media, throughout the neighborhood—there it was. And, one day, it was in
my own family.

My mother's ex-boyfriend came to our house when I was 15 and threatened us
with a gun. I feared for our lives and didn't know who to turn to as I
told my little sister to hide under the couch.

Thankfully, gunshots were never fired that day. But it was at that moment
I became a gun violence survivor.

I didn't share my story until years later when I joined Students Demand
Action and the Everytown Survivor Network. Now I know there are so many
people who have experienced the same thing. Now I know that our voices
matter and that we are not alone.

This National Gun Violence Survivors Week, join me in uplifting their
stories. [ [link removed] ]Watch and share our new video about gun violence survivors
fighting to end gun violence.

[ [link removed] ]Simply not alone: Watch our new video to learn how survivors are working
together to end gun violence.

[ [link removed] ]SHARE ON TWITTER

[ [link removed] ]SHARE ON FACEBOOK

Being a part of this movement has shown me that we are a nation of
survivors. 58 percent of adults in the U.S.—including 68 percent of Black
and Latino Americans—are survivors of gun violence.

And it's in Students Demand Action and the Everytown Survivor Network that
I've discovered a community. Among survivors there is no judgment—everyone
understands the devastation of gun violence. We can speak up. We can
follow in the footsteps of other Black survivors who have led this fight
for decades. We can channel our experiences into advocacy and work to make
sure that no one else has to have an experience like ours.

[ [link removed] ]This National Gun Violence Survivors Week, watch our new video to learn
how gun violence survivors are working together to end gun violence.

After that day when I feared for my life, I saw my mother's ex-boyfriend
one last time. He was unarmed. And I forgave him. But I never forgot and
never will.

Today, I tell my story because I know the power of my words. Because of my
fellow survivors, I now know that my story and my voice can make a
difference.

Thank you for being a part of this movement,

Taina Patterson
Everytown Survivor Network

P.S. [ [link removed] ]Read and share the stories of my fellow gun violence survivors at
Moments That Survive.


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