Coatesville resident Sarah Albrecht, a Range Safety Officer at the Atglen Sportsmen’s Club, is the co-founder of Hold My Guns, a program that aims to prevent suicide among firearm owners, writes Brett Sholtis for WHYY.

Albrecht has personal knowledge of the risks involving firearms and suicide. She has known four people who committed suicide, two of whom used firearms.

So after dealing with the loss of a family friend, Albrecht was determined to find a way to help. She started the Hold My Guns program with Genevieve Jones. The program is voluntary and requires no legislation. It allows gun owners to temporarily turn in their firearms when going through a personal crisis or dealing with a mental illness.

And while tighter gun laws can be a hot-button issue in today’s divided society, the co-founders are taking a non-partisan approach to their program.

“You know, what we really care about is preserving life,” said Jones. “We don’t really care to tell people that their opinions are wrong.”

Read more about the program at WHYY here.

[uam_ad id=”80503″]

.

[uam_ad id=”80502″]