The goal of Project GRIP (Gun-Related Injury Prevention) is to reduce intentional firearm-related injuries and deaths, such as suicides, homicides, and assaults. We work towards this goal in active partnership with individuals, groups, and communities that are impacted by firearm injuries and motivated to address them–including people who own and use firearms. We believe that when everyone has a seat at the table, our solutions will be more innovative and more impactful in preventing injuries and saving lives. 

There were over 48,000 deaths in the United States that resulted from firearm-related injury in 2022. That equates to about 132 people dying each day from a firearm-related injury. Firearms are used in more than half of all suicides and three-quarters of all homicides in the United States, creating an urgent need for prevention efforts. 

When we created Project GRIP, there was a gap between the experiences and values of people who own and use firearms and public health prevention efforts. To address this, Dr. Krista Mehari and Dr. Phillip Smith worked with community-based organizations and agencies in Mobile, Alabama to develop the idea of Project GRIP, which was then funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2020.

In Project GRIP, we took a participatory action research approach to work with firearm owners and with people living in communities with high rates of violence. By working together, we were able to explore people’s attitudes, behaviors, and practices around firearms. Overall, this helped us to identify what leads up to intentional firearm-related injury and deaths–which helps us to generate new approaches for firearm-related injury prevention. 

Project Grip