Wearing orange to promote gun awareness in Eisenhower Park

Orange is worn to remember and honor those who were killed or wounded by guns. Every June, people gather for nationwide Wear Orange events to spark change.

Wear Orange was started in 2015 by a group of teenagers who were honoring their friend Hadiya Pendleton who was shot in the back by two men at a park in Chicago when she was 16. Orange has become a defining color of the gun violence prevention movement because it is the color that hunters wear to stay safe.

The third annual Wear Orange event in Eisenhower Park on June 2 brought people together all over Long Island to promote common sense gun legislation and gun safety in the country. Wear Orange lasted from June 2 through 4 this year, with national Gun Violence Awareness Day being on June 2.

Tables were set up in the park with resources for those who want to get involved in the movement or for those who have been affected by gun violence. Speakers got up to share their stories or ways that they could help.

Some people who attended were survivors of gun violence. Others were those who lost family and friends to gun violence, such as Stephanie Draine, founder of Life After Loss ANDRE.

“The community pride has been great, getting more people out, being able to raise awareness of the impact of gun violence that’s not only affecting our communities, but also impacting us nationwide,” Draine said. “So the fact that this is a national event, the message is getting spread around.”

Draine started her organization with her husband to raise awareness and help others after her 26 year old son, Andre Graydon, was killed in 2014. ANDRE stands for ability, navigate, depression, recovery and empowerment. The organization focuses on supporting all people with healing achieving empowerment through the grief process.

“Getting the message across, most importantly, for the community residents to know all of the resources that are available,” Draine said. “I thought that it was important to invite these organizations that are in the community, because as I deal with a lot of families, I hear, ‘I don’t know, we don’t have resources, we don’t have this.’ So by setting up a table and putting out the information, people are more aware of all of the choices and places that they can reach out to.”

Along with her organization, other groups were there as well. Moms Demand Action, a group that fights for gun safety in America, SNUG Hempstead, an organization that work with victims of community violence, BeSMART for kids, a group that raises awareness for secure gun storage, Northwell Health, STRONG Youth, an organization specializing in youth and gang violence prevention and intervention in Uniondale and others were there to educate the public on what they offer.

The keynote speaker was Dr. Tochi Iroku-Malize, a family physician on Long Island with Northwell Health.

“We do this to honor, and remember all victims and survivors of gun violence and urge action,” Iroku-Malize said. “There’s a reason that you’re wearing orange, it’s not just to remember them, but to urge action and to remind people that this is an epidemic that exists, and that we need to do something about it.”

Iroku-Malize said that recent research shows that gun violence is now the number one cause of death for children within the United States. According to the CDC, approximately 124 people die from firearm related injuries every day, and Americans are 26 times more likely to die by gun homicide that people in other high income countries.

Radiah Simmons, a mom of two from Hempstead, was there to share her and her daughters stories. Just last year her then-7 year old daughter was shot in her arm outside of her home. Three months later Simmons was shot in the same spot.

“People that go through gun violence, it’s not just gang members,” Simmons said. “It’s not just people on the street, it’s not just people that you think is bad — it’s people that go to work every day and it’s little kids.

“They just want to play outside and their whole life could change in one minute.”