{"id":3995,"date":"2018-01-31T11:01:10","date_gmt":"2018-01-31T16:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter\/?page_id=3995"},"modified":"2018-01-31T11:01:10","modified_gmt":"2018-01-31T16:01:10","slug":"turning-grief-into-action","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2018\/features\/turning-grief-into-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Turning Grief Into Action"},"content":{"rendered":"

With Sandy Hook Promise, Nicole Hockley \u201992 seeks to save young lives<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Andrew J. Concatelli<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Nicole<\/a>
Nicole Hockley \u201992 holds a photo of son Dylan, who was killed in the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012.
Photo by Eric Ogden<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before December 14, 2012, Nicole Moretti Hockley \u201992 had not intended on dedicating herself to preventing gun-related deaths. But the course of her life was changed forever on that day, when her 6-year-old son, Dylan\u2014along with 19 other children and six adults\u2014was killed by a gunman inside Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.<\/p>\n

\u201cDylan was the glue for our family. We just called him pure love,\u201d Hockley says of her son. \u201cHe was autistic, so he had challenges with communication and development, but unlike many children on the spectrum, he really enjoyed deep, firm cuddles. He adored his big brother, Jake, and he played with the kids in our neighborhood. He was just a very good boy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hockley\u2019s immense grief quickly morphed into action. One month after the tragedy, Hockley joined co-founders Tim Makris and Mark Barden\u2014whose son Daniel also was killed\u2014and gathered others impacted by the violence to form Sandy Hook Promise (SHP), a national nonprofit organization that works to prevent gun-related deaths of children due to crime, suicide, and accidental discharge. \u201cAfter tragedy, people come together, and they want to do something that makes a difference. I felt that this was a platform I could lend my voice to and make some positive change,\u201d she says. \u201cI didn\u2019t want other families to experience what I had experienced. I didn\u2019t want another mother to lose her child.\u201d<\/p>\n

SHP\u2019s intent is to honor all victims of gun violence by turning the Sandy Hook tragedy into a moment of transformation by offering programs that protect young lives. \u201cDylan\u2019s voice is gone, his future is gone, and there\u2019s so much pain, but there has to be something we can do to create something positive from this, to create his legacy,\u201d Hockley says. \u201cWhen I say the job is 24\/7, I\u2019m not exaggerating. \u2026 It\u2019s incredibly personal to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Students at Miami-Dade\u2019s John A. Ferguson Senior High School take part in the Sandy Hook Promise event. Photos by Diego Mendoza\/Creative Light Studios<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

SHP offers a suite of educational programs\u2014with a focus on youth\u2014that teach how to recognize the signs of a person who is at risk of hurting themselves or others, as well as how to intervene effectively. \u201cStart with Hello\u201d helps middle and high school students learn the signs of chronic social isolation, which Hockley says is a leading sign of someone who could commit an act of violence. \u201cSay Something\u201d focuses on teaching teens to recognize at-risk behaviors through the lens of social media and to seek the help of an adult. Additional programs emphasize the warning signs of suicide and evaluate whether schools are taking the proper steps to prevent violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese acts of violence are preventable when you know the signs,\u201d Hockley says. \u201cWe\u2019ve trained 2 million kids and adults in all 50 states to know the signs and the tools to report them, we\u2019ve helped to reduce bullying and other forms of victimization, and we\u2019ve gotten hundreds of kids the mental health help they need.\u201d All of SHP\u2019s programs are offered at no cost. \u201cWe don\u2019t want money to ever be a barrier to saving a life,\u201d Hockley says. Instead, the organization is supported primarily by donors.<\/p>\n

SHP employs a staff of about 30, mostly based in the Newtown headquarters, with others in California, Ohio, Florida, and Washington, D.C., and a team of \u201cPromise Presenters\u201d who travel the country to deliver the programs in person. As one of SHP\u2019s three managing directors, Hockley is focused on marketing and communications, program development, and digital fundraising. She also serves as the media spokesperson and conducts seminars and speaking engagements.<\/p>\n

\"Nicole<\/a>
Nicole Hockley \u201992, co-founder of Sandy Hook Promise, speaks at the organization\u2019s launch in Miami-Dade County (Florida) Public Schools in September 2016.
Photos by Diego Mendoza\/Creative Light Studios<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hockley says that her B.A. in English and theater from Trinity College helped drive her career in marketing and now helps in her work at SHP. \u201cI am able to use my skills by crafting messaging and writing in a way that motivates someone to do something and informs them correctly,\u201d she says. One way to become more informed about the issue of gun violence, Hockley says, is by agreeing to the Sandy Hook Promise at sandyhookpromise.org<\/a> and by reading the website for ways to get involved. \u201cIt\u2019s growing fast, and we need all the help that we can get,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Hockley\u2019s partners say that her passion plays a large role in the rapid growth that SHP has experienced. \u201cNicole\u2019s strength, heart, and soul have been poured into creating programs that stop someone before they hurt themselves or others,\u201d Makris says. \u201cBy 2026, she will have helped 26 million youth and adults, truly changing an entire generation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Makris adds that Hockley is one of the most dedicated individuals he has ever known. \u201cEvery time a challenge is in front of her that slows progress, she regroups and finds a way around, over, or under it,\u201d Makris says. \u201cGrief, trauma, and horror strike too many parents and community members each and every day. I believe that Nicole is showing that out of tragedy can come transformation, that you can create change that honors those lost and protects those who are here with us today. She is on a mission to create change and to honor her son, Dylan. She inspires all of us to do even more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Students at Olde Towne Middle School in Ridgeland, Mississippi, participate in the Sandy Hook Promise \u201cSay Something Week\u201d in October 2017. The event was funded by a mini-grant from the Allstate Foundation for the school\u2019s Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE) Promise Club. Photo by Brad Smith\/PBSMITH IMAGING<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This mission is what Hockley considers to be her life\u2019s work. \u201cThis isn\u2019t what I chose to do,\u201d she says. \u201cObviously I never would have chosen for what happened at Sandy Hook to happen. But this is what I will be doing for the rest my life: teaching others to prevent tragedies where they live.\u201d<\/p>\n

For her work, she was honored by Trinity with its 2017 Alumni Achievement Award, with her citation noting her \u201ccourage, hard work, and selflessness.\u201d She also was recognized in 2016 by People<\/em> magazine as one of its \u201c25 Women Changing the World,\u201d yet that\u2019s not exactly how she sees it. Her motivation lies closer to home.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see myself as someone who wants to make a difference, and the reason I do that is because of my son who is no longer living and my son who is still surviving,\u201d Hockley says. \u201cI\u2019m not trying to change the world; I\u2019m just trying to help save lives and to make sure other people don\u2019t have to walk in my shoes.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more about Sandy Hook Promise, please visit https:\/\/www.sandyhookpromise.org\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Sandy Hook Promise:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI promise to do all I can to protect children from gun violence by encouraging and supporting solutions that create safer, healthier homes, schools, and communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With Sandy Hook Promise, Nicole Hockley \u201992 seeks to save young lives By Andrew J. Concatelli Before December 14, 2012,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"parent":1464,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-full-width.php","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3995"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3995\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2018\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}