Program Overview
The Community First Response program is an initiative to provide emergency trauma kits and training to prominent LGBTQ+ businesses and organizations across Central Florida. This project is sponsored by the Rose Dynasty Foundation, and is funded by a grant from the Contigo Fund, a fiscally sponsored project of the Proteus Fund.
Community Need
A grim reality is that escalating anti-Queer rhetoric and emboldened bigotry place high-visibility Queer and Trans organizations at an elevated risk of hate crimes and gun violence. Local LGBTQ+ business and organizations have been targeted with aggressive protest actions, vandalism, and threats of violence.
Community First Response is a program that can save lives by distributing specialized bleeding control kits and training the staff and volunteers of high-visibility Queer organizations and meeting places in the means to stabilize victims of gun violence and other traumatic injury until the arrival of advanced medical care.
Different studies typically place EMS response times between 10-15 minutes, and medical personnel typically will not enter the scene of a mass shooting until cleared by law enforcement personnel. This delay in medical care often results in additional deaths which could have been prevented with life-saving intervention by survivors on the scene. Early medical intervention and rapid transportation to an appropriate treatment facility are the most important factors to limit the loss of life.
Action to curb hate crimes, gun violence, and stochastic terrorism is absolutely required, but all this will also take time to bring into effect. While the threat could be reduced, it will never be eliminated. A knowledge of basic medical care is important for everyone to have, particularly among communities at greater risk of targeted violence. Law enforcement and professional medical providers will respond to violent attacks, but complications in response times, lack of coordination, delayed decision making, and poor communication all delay medical care to the victims. During this delay, victims will die who could have absolutely been saved by the proper life-saving intervention.
Providing medical kits and training to the staff and volunteers of these organizations will increase the preparedness and capability of the Queer community to stabilize casualties and save lives in the event of an attack. We are very excited to be launching the Community First Response program