The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and Michigan State Police are encouraging people to pick up free gun locks as part of an effort to raise awareness about safe gun storage.

Last year, nearly 57,000 free gun locks were distributed in the state from $500,000 in funding.

Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian is the Chief Medical Executive for the State of Michigan. She says firearms are the number one cause of death for kids.

“This is not just in Michigan, but across the country. When we look at children under the age of 19, firearm deaths are a bigger problem than accidental drownings and pediatric cancers. So this is really a core element of public health, is preventing these types of completely preventable deaths,” she said.

Last year, Michigan also passed a “red flag” law, which allows people to notify authorities if someone with a gun should surrender their firearms if they are a threat to themselves or others.

Bagdasarian says gun violence is a public health concern.

“Gun safety is really something that has not been talked about as a health issue for many decades, and I’m really glad that we’re starting to talk about this as a public health concern, because we know that firearms are now the number one cause of death for our children,” she said.

About 1,500 Michigan residents die each year in gun-related incidents – another 2,900 are injured. Bagdasarian says children are also impacted.

“They either injure themselves unintentionally, or they tend to injure a sibling or a close friend. And for the younger kids, they tend to think that the weapon is a toy. And for the older kids, they tend to think that the weapon is unloaded,” she said.

Bagdasarian says the vast majority of accidental shootings happen among children from weapons that are stored, unlocked and loaded. Guns are often kept in places like a nightstand, under a mattress, or on the top shelf of a closet.

She says having a gun lock, similar to a bike lock, can keep kids safe.

People can pick up gun locks from a local MDHHS office health department or participating police station by checking the Project ChildSafe website.