CT Against Gun Violence is excited to partner with the Connecticut Violence Intervention Program for this year’s Wear Orange event to observe National Gun Violence Awareness Day. It’s a day to honor victims, celebrate survivors and renew our pledge to work together to end gun violence.
We chose to have this year’s Wear Orange event at CT VIP to bring attention to the trauma created by community gun violence, trauma that disproportionately impacts people of color in Connecticut’s urban areas. But we also want people to know there is hope: community-based intervention and prevention programs like CT VIP are saving lives. You’ll hear first-hand how these programs steer at-risk individuals away from gun violence.
Wear Orange was inspired by the friends of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old Chicago student killed by gunfire just days after participating in President Obama’s 2013 inauguration. Because orange was Hadiya’s favorite color, and it’s the color hunters use to protect themselves, her friends decided to honor her life by wearing orange on June 2, her birthday. This tradition has continued annually with observations across the country on her birthday and the weekend following.
