Gun Safety Pilot Program
Cleveland Public Library
Innovation Synopsis
On April 20, the Cleveland community suffered a tragedy and mourned the loss of a young girl to gun violence. Another gun. Another life taken too soon. As Cleveland grieved, Cleveland Public Library turned that heartbreak into renewed urgency, recognizing that the work of building safer communities had to continue. The next day, the Library joined its partners to announce a Gun Safety Pilot built on a simple but powerful idea: use a place Clevelanders already trust to make gun safety more accessible. In May, residents 18 and older could receive free firearm safes and locks at three Library locations in neighborhoods experiencing high rates of gun violence, while supplies lasted. The initiative also connected residents with education and violence prevention services. By bringing practical safety tools into local libraries and removing barriers to access, the Library made safer firearm storage an immediate, accessible choice for families.
Challenge/Opportunity
Gun violence is a public health and public safety issue that reaches into homes, families and neighborhoods. Safe firearm storage can reduce access to guns by children, people in crisis and unauthorized users, yet more than half of U.S. gun owners do not store firearms safely. In Cleveland, the need for prevention is especially urgent in neighborhoods experiencing high concentrations of weapons-related incidents. CPL saw an opportunity to address both sides of the challenge: make safety tools easier to obtain and create trusted, neighborhood-based opportunities to learn about responsible storage. An ad hoc CPL work group used City of Cleveland weapons-related incident data to identify Library locations where resources could reach communities experiencing the greatest need. The result was an opportunity to move prevention out of the abstract and into the neighborhoods where Clevelanders live, work and gather.
Key Elements of Innovation
CPL built the pilot around access, trust and partnership. Using local weapons-related incident data, the Library identified three locations with high concentrations of incidents: Glenville, Rice and Lorain. Through partner donations, residents 18 and older could receive a free firearm safe or lock: no questions asked, no Library card or identification required.
The Library paired distribution with “Safe Storage Saves Lives: Firearm Responsibility and Handling,” bringing certified firearm instructors, local law enforcement and public health organizations into neighborhood libraries for education and conversation. Key partners included State Representative Darnell Brewer, the Cuyahoga County Office of Violence Prevention and The Academy of Medicine of Cleveland & Northern Ohio. The model is innovative because it transforms trusted neighborhood libraries into accessible front doors for public health and safety resources.
Achieved Outcomes
As CPL evaluates the pilot’s long-term potential, success is being measured through device distribution, program participation, community engagement, partner involvement and resident feedback.
Since its inception, the program has placed and distributed nearly 300 firearm safety devices in participating Library locations. CPL hosted approximately six sessions of “Safe Storage Saves Lives,” bringing together local law enforcement, certified firearm instructors and public health organizations to provide residents with practical guidance on safe storage, responsible handling and violence prevention, while creating new opportunities for partners to engage with the community.
Additional safes are scheduled for distribution at a September safety fair, and The Academy of Medicine of Cleveland & Northern Ohio has secured additional grant funding to support potential expansion to other Library locations.
Supporting Materials:
- FOX8 CLE+ Article: "Preventing violence: Free gun locks available in Cleveland"
- Spectrum News 1 Article: "Cleveland public libraries plan to protect residents by giving out free gun safes"
