What is the Family Safety Net (FSN)?
The Family Safety Net (FSN) project, initiated in 2020, is a partnership between the Maniilaq Association and the University of Michigan that aims to support Alaska Native households in the Maniilaq service area. Our goal is to equip adults with the knowledge and resources (ammo boxes, gun locks, etc.) needed to reduce firearm injuries and fatalities among youth. We hope to highlight values within Alaska Native rural communities that already support young people’s wellbeing and extend that to safety practices for firearm storage.
After three years of working with communities in Maniilaq’s service area, we have tailored the Family Safety Net to better meet the needs of the people. The next step in this study is to pilot the FSN brief intervention in standard clinical practice at the Kotzebue Maniilaq healthcare setting.
Our work is supported by the Kaiser Permanente Center for Gun Violence Research and Education. We have previously received support from the National Institutes of Health (R61MH125757) and the University of Michigan Injury Prevention Center by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (R49-CE-003085).