These kits may provide lifesaving aid in North Richland Hills schools. Here’s how to help
In Birdville High School, there are about 20 Stop the Bleed kits throughout the school in case of a critical incident on campus.
But if the school were on lockdown, where everyone must stay in a classroom, staff members and students would have a difficult time getting to the Stop the Bleed kits.
North Richland Hills school resource officer Shayne Kotara had an idea for a better plan.
Kotara researched the most efficient kit for a school classroom and found what he needed on Amazon — a crisis kit for under $25.
The school resource officer is on a campaign to collect 120 kits for the classrooms at Birdville High School.
And another North Richland school resource officer also is on a campaign to get the kits at two other schools.
“We have always had great community support at Birdville High School, the citizens of North Richland Hills and surrounding communities,” Kotara said in an email. “I thought this would be a great way for the community to show their love and support for our students.”
The need for crisis kits and Stop the Bleed kits is something borne out by statistics on mass and school shootings in the United States.
In 2019, there were 25 shootings that occurred on school property, according to Education Week’s school shooting tracker. Eight people were killed and 43 wounded.
In that same year, there were 417 mass shootings in the United States, according to statistics from Gun Violence Archive, which tracks every mass shooting in the country. The organization defines a mass shooting as any incident in which at least four people are shot.
As of Oct. 12, there have been eight shootings on school campuses in 2020 with 10 killed or injured, according to Education Week.
Kotara said by having crisis kits in each classroom, it would allow staff and students locked inside a classroom to start immediate lifesaving procedures.
Each kit contains trauma shears, pressure bandages, compressed gauze, an emergency rescue blanket, gloves and instructions.
Members of the Birdville High School Student Council are helping Kotara by assisting in the assembly and delivery of the kits.
When a crisis kit is delivered, each teacher will receive a brief instruction and demonstration on how to use the tourniquet, Kotara said.
“I have already been contacted by other district SRO’s who plan on doing the same to their campuses,” Kotara said.
North Richland Hills school resource officer Kevin Brown is on a campaign to equip North Richland Middle School and Birdville Center of Technology and Advanced Learning.
“I’ll take it as far as I can go,” Kotara said. “If I have the support and the crisis kits keep rolling in, I will keep putting them in classrooms.”
To help, Kotara’s wish list can be ordered here. If you order from his wish list, the delivery address should be: Officer Kotara, Birdville High School, 9100 Mid-Cities Boulevard, North Richland Hills, TX 76180.
For Brown, the wish list is here.
