Bystanders are often the first people to respond in emergency situations. The objective of SAFE is to empower everyday citizens by giving them the necessary skills to provide immediate care for gun shot victims until help arrives. Excessive blood loss can turn an already horrible situation into a deadly one in less than 5 minutes: many times too fast for emergency personnel to arrive no matter how quickly they were summoned. In communities that experience a high volume of gun crimes, activating community emergency response teams is instrumental in reducing the number of preventable deaths. Our military trained tactical medical professionals travel to communities in need and provide a certification course to volunteers that covers emergency response preparedness and first aid training, with a focus on addressing the specific needs of gun shot victims.

SAFE is committed to bringing in highly qualified and experienced people to teach programs inside the community itself in order to maximize the amount of people who can participate. The goal is to certify as many people as possible with emergency response training; the more people who have this training, the higher the likelihood that there will be a bystander with training available during a future crisis situation.

The training covers how to identify the best technique and tools to use depending on the severity of the bleeding and location of the gunshot wound and using that training to slow and stop the bleeding until professional help arrives, thereby dramatically increasing the chance of survival of the victim.

Everyone who takes the course will learn how to identify life-threatening wounds and leave with an understanding of the symptoms of shock. Once the location of the wound(s) has been established, volunteers learn how to effectively stem blood flow in several different ways.

Volunteers are taught about the complexity of treating a hemorrhage, junctional wound packing techniques and how to properly apply firm, steady pressure to a wound with or without dressing. For wounds on the victim’s extremities, volunteers will learn how to use a tourniquet to slow and stop blood loss. Participants will also learn about thoracic injuries and how to properly treat them. Medical kits that include additional supplies such as a tourniquet, hemostatic gauze, a pressure bandage, and a chest seal with application instructions, will be provided to volunteers who complete the certification training. The course is designed to promote self-reliance and enable volunteers to provide care quickly and efficiently until medical professionals arrive.

In some communities, gun violence is an epidemic. By providing exemplary volunteer emergency response training to at risk communities, SAFE wants to help as many people as possible transition from being a regular bystander to a trained immediate responder.