February 26, 2025

Empowering social workers to support secure firearm storage

Firearms are the leading cause of death among children and adolescents aged 1-19 years in the U.S. and this crisis disproportionately impacts Black, Indigenous, and other Communities of Color, as well as those facing economic and social inequities. Understanding these disparities and their impact on local communities, Dr. Kelsey Conrick discovered a critical gap in firearm safety education among social workers—professionals who frequently work with individuals at high risk of firearm-related harm.

Conrick grew up in Montgomery, Alabama, where firearms are part of the cultural identity. However, during her PhD studies at University of Washington’s School of Social Work she noticed that many social workers in Washington had limited familiarity with firearms. In particular, many had no direct experience with firearms, lacked an understanding of terminology, and were unfamiliar with how to use secure firearm storage devices. She saw that lack of familiarity as a major barrier to incorporating firearm safety into social work practice.

Secure firearm storage is a life-saving harm reduction strategy for individuals experiencing a crisis, yet most social workers in Washington state have not received training related to collaboratively work with these clients to temporarily reduce firearm access. Conrick and Stacey A. De Fries, an associate teaching professor at the UW School of Social Work, are leading a new project funded by the Population Health Initiative that seeks to equip social workers with this critical knowledge. Developed in collaboration with the UW Schools of Social Work and Public Health and the Eastern Washington University School of Social Work, the project will pilot secure firearm storage education for Master’s of Social Work students at the respective universities. Its impact will be assessed through pre- and post- surveys, along with simulated counseling sessions.

Conrick emphasized the power of the cross-disciplinary nature of this project, noting, “We’re able to bring the strengths of the folks who have this substantive expertise around firearms with the intervention development expertise from public health and medicine.”

Social workers play a critical role on the frontlines of community responses to pressing challenges, often working with clients a high-risk of harming themselves or others. Despite this, most current firearm safety trainings are performed in medical settings, which Conrick identifies as a central issue in firearm safety measures.

“Social workers are working with clients in very different ways inside the health care system than primary care providers,” Conrick explained. “They’re often able to provide longitudinal service connection.” She continued, “Social workers are also in community settings where physicians aren’t.”

Conrick’s dissertation research, completed this past March, focused on mapping out social workers’ decision making processes when assisting clients in crisis and trying to support them in temporarily reducing their firearm access. Her research revealed several key knowledge gaps among social workers, finding that while 87% of surveyed social workers in Washington state reported assessing at least one client for firearm access in the past year, only 15% had received any training specific to facilitating firearm removal in their MSW or BASW courses. Additionally, less than half of the interviewed social workers had even heard of extreme risk protection orders, an important firearm safety policy.

Conrick believes the project’s findings validate the importance of cultural competency in firearm harm reduction strategies, with firearm attitudes varying greatly based on geography, racial identity and socioeconomic status.

“I think the way that a community experiences the burden of firearms–whether that’s suicide or homicide, hearing gunshots in your neighborhood—very much differs based on where you are and what your community looks like,” she said. “And I think communities’ responses to discussions about firearms and their priorities around reducing harm are also very different.”

Conrick and De Fries hope that this project will serve as a launchpad for disseminating firearm safety training to social workers throughout their master’s and even bachelor’s studies. They hope that these trainings can help social workers move past stigma and unfamiliarity to develop cultural competency surrounding firearms, understanding that different communities have varying attitudes and relationships with firearms, ultimately benefiting community safety.