KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mental health leaders in Johnson County, Kansas, hope a new program to provide gunlocks to residents seeking mental health services will help promote firearm safety.
In a news release Friday morning, the Johnson County Mental Health Center announced a partnership with the Johnson County Department of Health and Environment that will provide free gunlocks and other resources to residents seeking services at the county’s vaccine clinic and the main health clinic in Olathe.
Officials hope the program can take advantage of residents accessing vaccine-related services and use that interaction to provide other services as well.
“You can’t separate physical health from mental health or mental health from physical health,” JCMHC Director Tim DeWeese said in the release. “People are getting the vaccine to protect themselves, their loved ones and their community. Our hope is that people will take home a gunlock to do the same.”
Johnson County Suicide Prevention Coalition Chair Sondra Wallace hopes the partnership can meet residents where they’re at.
“This is exactly why we are offering gunlocks at vaccine clinics; it’s the best way for us to reach diverse community members with helpful resources,” Wallace said.
More information about the partnership is available online.
