AMHERST, N.Y. — Hundreds of businesses, houses of worship, not-for-profits and other organizations are coming together Wednesday for the first-ever "Safe Places Seminar," hosted by the Erie County Law Enforcement Foundation.
The U.S. Secret Service National Threat Assessment Center (NTAC) and the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) will lead the seminar at the Buffalo Marriott Niagara in Amherst.
Vice-chair of the Erie County Law Enforcement Foundation and seminar coordinator, Bill Regan shared with 2 on Your Side how holding a seminar like this would be a necessary offer after recent tragedies.
"Unfortunately with the number of mass shootings that have taken place and are currently taking place on a daily basis, and in particular, the Tops tragedy from last May, our board decided that it would be really expedient to offer this safe places seminar in the same mode we've been programming the safe schools initiative seminar," Regan said.
More than 550 groups are registered for the seminar, which features both an in-person and virtual component. The in-person seminar is at maximum capacity, but you can still register for the virtual seminar leading up the start, which is 8:30 a.m. It goes until 1:00 p.m.
Organizers hope this is a chance for people to be empowered and proactive when it comes to stopping violence before it starts.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, a non-profit that provides near-real time data about gun violence across America, the U.S. averages two mass shootings a day. Threat assessments by the Secret Service show that targeted violence is preventable if people have tools, resources, and training to intervene before things turn violent.
"We can't afford to be bystanders, but more importantly with organizations, you have to have a system in place that allows you as an individual to know how to respond to a situation where you see perhaps a fellow employee, a vendor, somebody who keeps visiting, maybe somebody on the phone. How do you kind of bubble that up so that your organization can take a proactive approach relative to maintaining safety?" Regan said.
The seminar will also feature a vendor fair with businesses and organizations whose focus is on enhancing safety and security.