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. Watch and share our new video about gun violence survivors fighting to end gun violence.
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.
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. Read and share the stories of my fellow gun violence survivors at Moments That Survive.
