For immediate release – May 25, 2022

Healthy Schools Now on Texas Tragedy: “We Can Never, Never Accept that Mass Shootings Are ‘Normal’”

TRENTON, NJ — “Our hearts are with the families in Uvalde, Texas who are victims of an unspeakable tragedy,” said Debra Coyle, executive director of the New Jersey Work Environment Council (WEC). “The epidemic of gun violence in the United States – including the racist terror attack in Buffalo – continues to claim innocent lives and is a public health crisis. All of us can play a role in finding common sense solutions.”

“Schools should be a safe haven for children, not a scene of blood and terror,” said Nikki Baker, organizer for Healthy Schools Now, a statewide coalition, focused on improving the learning and teaching environment in New Jersey schools. “We’re not helpless in face of these horrific acts. We need a holistic approach that includes common sense gun laws, comprehensive mental health services for children and adults, and actionable measures to recognize and prevent violence in our workplaces – including schools and colleges.”

“The heartbreak must be unbearable for parents who dropped their children off at school on a normal weekday only to learn they will never see them alive again,” said Coyle. “We can never, never, accept that mass shootings are ‘normal’ in our schools, workplaces and communities. Real action – not just words – to prevent gun violence must be at the top of our local, state and national agenda.”
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Healthy Schools Now is a coalition of more than 80 organizations representing a diverse set of stakeholders including public school advocates, parents, social justice, faith leaders and environmentalists dedicated to ensuring all New Jersey children and school employees learn and work in safe, healthy, modernized school buildings.

WEC, which is a partner in HSN, is a coalition of 70 labor, community, and environmental organizations working for safe, secure jobs and a healthy sustainable environment. WEC is part of the National Council for Occupational Safety and Health network and offers training in workplace violence prevention as part of its ongoing program of free health and safety training to improve conditions in New Jersey workplaces.