Be SMART Kalkaska/Antrim County

11/18/2024

Meant to post this earlier, but here is the Be SMART KAIR Festival of Trees Tree for 2024- A New Day! 🎄🌄The theme is sunrises to remind us that every day is a fresh start and ties in with our su***de prevention work. If you or a loved one is having thoughts of su***de or struggling with mental health in general, please text or call 988. Always remember you are loved! ❤️

08/23/2024

We had a great time yesterday at Blazer Bash! The weather was beautiful and we connected with so many wonderful families! Wishing all the kids and teachers a great school year! ✏️📓🍏

08/16/2024

Thank you to the Kalkaska Commission on Aging and the Calvary Baptist Church of Kalkaska for inviting us to table at this year's Senior Appreciation Day! It was great meeting more members of our community and sharing our message of responsible gun ownership through both a booth and presentation!

06/23/2024

Despite the weather and lack of gun locks, we still had a great turnout at the East Jordan Freedom Festival! We had great conversations about secure storage and ERPO, and everyone was very friendly and helpful! Proud! Red Devils!

05/05/2024

Thank you so much Heidi Lynn Mull for inviting Be SMART to table at the Kalkaska Baptist Church craft show today! I had a great time promoting responsible gun ownership with Trooper McCauley from the Houghton Lake Post! The weather was perfect and the people were super friendly. It gives me so much hope to hear that so many people are responsible gun owners in the area and really care about keeping kids safe.

I also wanted to give a shout out to Denise Shea and Kiersten's Ride 501c3! They are a local nonprofit organization that does awesome work with su***de awareness and prevention! I very highly recommend the ASIST (applied su***de intervention skills training) to anyone interested in su***de prevention!

04/29/2024

Had a great time at the National Trout Festival with Trooper McCauley! We had great conversations with people about responsible gun ownership and keeping kids safe. I was really impressed with how many people in the community were responsible with their guns! Thank you so much to the Kalkaska community for being so welcoming and listening to our message of safety!

02/15/2024

The next statewide Be SMART presentation will be on Wednesday, February 21st at 7:00 PM. It will be held virtually over zoom and presented by the Be SMART lead of North Oakland County. Registration is free! This presentation supports the 2nd amendment and is adults-only. Please plan for a twenty minute presentation with a Q&A afterwards. Please sign up at:

Join parents, caregivers and other concerned adults to learn about the important reasons for safe gun storage in homes and vehicles to protect our children, teens and at-risk individuals. Even if you are not a firearm owning family, there are steps you can take to protect children from unsecured fir...

02/15/2024

As of February 13th, Michigan’s Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) law has gone into effect. What this means is family members, dating partners, roommates, law enforcement, school counselors, medical and mental health professionals can use this tool to temporarily remove guns from someone in crisis who poses a threat to harm themselves or others. This is followed up by due process in the legal system & supported by Law Enforcement. In other words, if you see something, say something. Your voice could save someone’s life!

Learn all about the law in Michigan, who can request an ERPO, and access the forms here:

https://onethingyoucando.org/michigan/?fbclid=IwAR1Thz-OF9VzAh3YUEwrk4GoGZNZiXgQe11EerN2yFjgoEUMuVJ2zPwB_UQ

https://onethingyoucando.org/michigan/?fbclid=IwAR1Thz-OF9VzAh3YUEwrk4GoGZNZiXgQe11EerN2yFjgoEUMuVJ2zPwB_UQ

If you or someone you know is in crisis, text or call 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org for 24/7 connection to free, confidential support.

01/14/2024

Interested in volunteering or learning more about Be SMART? For 2024, we are planning on having a sort of meet-and-greet once a month in a different town within Antrim or Kalkaska counties to get to know the community and interested volunteers. We are hoping to start these meetings sometime in January in Kalkaska (will post updates when a date, time and location are chosen), and are considering meeting at either the library, McDonald's, Burger King or Arby's. Comment below if you have a preference out of these, or know of a better location to meet. We are looking forward to meeting you all!

12/15/2023

On Monday, December 18th, at 7pm we will be hosting a statewide zoom meeting about Be SMART. It is open to the public and free for anyone to join! RSVP at the link below under the events tab:

Be SMART raises awareness that secure gun storage — storing guns locked, unloaded and separate from ammunition — can save children’s lives. Learn more and join us.