Last September, CNN’s Anderson Cooper profiled his chosen Champion for Change, Sandy and Lonnie Phillips of Survivors Empowered. In the interview, Sandy said that their legacy, in honor of their daughter, Jessi—slain in the 2012 Aurora, CO theater shooting—is to help other gun violence survivors find joy again as they have.

After suffering the torturous loss of their daughter to gun violence, Sandy and Lonnie struggled for years to regain a sense of purpose and joy. Less than six months after the tragedy, they started traveling the country to share their experiences with newly traumatized gun violence survivors.

In December 2012, they went to the site of the Sandy Hook shooting and realized that helping survivors was their mission. Over the next decade, they went to 14 mass shooting sites. Halfway through, they changed the name of their organization from Jessi’s Message to Survivors Empowered, a 501(c)(3) national non-profit organization. They adopted the credo “By Survivors, For Survivors, Empowering Survivors.”

Noted CNN’s Cooper who honored the Phillipses as an uplifting community champion for empowering survivors of gun violence to move forward with their lives, “They now focus on building up the next generation of survivors.”

Added Gabby Giffords, whose gun control organization has collaborated with the Phillipses: “…watch this interview with my friends Sandy and Lonnie Phillips…they were featured on CNN as part of this year’s Champions for Change…Sandy and Lonnie have traveled across the country helping other survivors heal in the wake of mass shootings after their own daughter was killed in the Aurora theater shooting…today we’re in Chicago together meeting with survivors to support their healing journey and to help them turn their pain into action.” 

Continuing Accomplishments
This past year has led to several groundbreaking accomplishments on behalf of all gun violence survivors past, present, and future:

• Worked with Newtown Alliance to garner 130-plus Congressional sponsors for a bill to repeal the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). PLCAA gives the firearm industry immunity from criminal or civil prosecution for negligent or harmful actions, sales, or related activities. They are close to the 150-sponsor threshold needed to move the legislation forward next year, when hopefully the Democrats will control the House of Representatives;
• Developed and hosted the first-ever Gun Violence State of the Union event, a national call-to-action and blueprint for responsible gun control measures. Topics included: a) keeping weapons away from those prone to commit violence; b) enhancing safe storage; c) making the firearm industry legally accountable for negligent or irresponsible practices to give justice to survivors; d) reimbursing taxpayers for gun violence costs; and e) honesty in marketing guns that addresses the high correlation between gun ownership and suicide;
• In tandem with the Gun Violence State of the Union, Survivors Empowered created and launched a new website to support survivors and provide thoughtful leadership information about gun ownership, control, and responsible use in the US;
• Hosted the first-ever survivor retreat to provide intensive support for a small group of survivors and serve as a model for a series of mobile retreats going forward;
• Continue evolving other existing resources, including the Survivors Toolkit co-authored with Gabby Giffords, Trauma Therapy Resources, and Mindfulness Courses. All information is available on the website.

Up Next

• Mentor gun violence survivors who want to launch their own organizations to support other survivors and/or become effective advocates to help achieve sensible gun control and accountability initiatives, regulations, and legislation;
• Serve as a uniter of gun control organizations to enhance efficient development and sharing of resources. Key to these efforts are regular collaboration, building mutual accountability and reliability, increasing collective persuasive influence and power, and achieving overall synergy that can occur when many work together to achieve maximum impact;
• Expand efforts to educate and empower survivors—including supporting survivors to tell their stories to the media and others in a compelling way; and helping wounded gun violence survivors archive their stories for research purposes;
• Identify and train veteran survivors of violence able and willing to serve as a part of a Rapid Response Team—thereby exponentially growing the immediate presence of experienced teams in the aftermath of mass shootings (and assisting overwhelmed local governments and law enforcement). Notes Lonnie Phillips, “Victims are in total shock or fighting for their lives. No one understands what these survivors need better than those who have gone through it.”;
• Complete a new book about the gun control movement, adding to two previous Sandy and Lonnie Phillips co-authored books.

Although Sandy and Lonnie Phillips are veterans of the gun control movement, they continue to view their efforts from a fresh perspective—eager to contribute and help change the trajectory of gun violence in a country where guns are the number one killer of kids and teens.