A Safe Place with Luis Aponte

In today's episode, I share with you some free gun locks I was able to get from my local public library . Gun locks are an easy way in which we can all help save lives by keeping them out of the hands of minors and anyone contemplating suicide. This free program was made possible through the city of Alexandria, Virginia's gun lock program and other suicide prevention efforts.

Public libraries give out free COVID ...

Today's episode focuses on the recent Covenant School mass shooting in Nashville, Tennessee and the misinformation campaign focusing on the shooter's transgender identity, instead of focusing on how he legally came into possession of the real causes of the shooting and how he obtained an AR-15 military-style rifle, a 9 mm Kel-Tec SUB2000 pistol caliber carbine, and a 9 mm Smith and Wesson M&P Shield EZ 2.0 handgun .

Today's special guest is children’s author and former reserve Law Enforcement officer Claire Marie.  Her work spans across school emergency preparedness & management, school safety & prevention systems, non-profits, the private sector, and law enforcement mental health and wellness. She is also the author of Sammy the Sasquatch; Welcome to Crittertopia. 

Sammy the Sasquatch and her friends in Crittertopia gen...

In order to maintain positive mental health, I try to focus on at least 3 positive things I am grateful for in my life.  Four of my top list are:

#1 – The love of my wife
#2 – My Health
#3 – My awesome job
#4 – My creative outlets

For my birthday, I have only two requests:
#1 - Please consider making a donation to "MakeOurSchoolsSafe.org" and “StandForTheSilent.org, two wonderful nonp...

Today is episode #5 of "A Safe Place" and I am excited to share with you some great news I received yesterday.  Last year, I wrote an article about updating historical reports on school shootings in order to keep kids safe in school. And yesterday, I learned that that article has been officially published in EDUCATION. For those of you that are not familiar with this publication, this is an education journal that has been...

Yesterday, on October 31st, 2022, I learned that my sister committed suicide. The emotional and mental anguish my family and I are experiencing is overwhelming. I wish we could have all been there to help her through her darkest moment.

Sometimes I know it’s easy to get stuck in a dark place. It can feel like you’re suffocating with no way out…It’s terrifying. But that is exactly when you need to reach out the most to some...

When I began this podcast, I never imagined that I would meet real life superheroes. Kirk Smalley is the President of StandForTheSilent.org. This nonprofit organization was started in 2010 by a group of high school students in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma after they heard the story of Kirk’s son, Ty who committed suicide after standing up to bullies in his school. Stand for the Silent has chapters in 40 states and 18 different countries...

For my first guest on "A Safe Place" podcast, I am honored to interview, Lori Alhadeff. In 2018, Lori lost her 14-year old daughter, Alyssa, in the Parkland shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Since then, she has been fighting so that no other parent has to endure the pain they live with through her nonprofit organization, “Make Our Schools Safe.”   

Through Lori's tireless efforts, her organiz...

Welcome to "A Safe Place" - a podcast where we discuss school gun violence and how to keep kids safe in schools.

 I am your host, Luis Aponte. I am a librarian, author, filmmaker and the founder of Dragon Film Productions. Thank you for joining me. I am honored to have you here with me today.

This is the first episode of "A Safe Place." This podcast is inspired by two nonfiction books I have recently completed. On...