Kensington woman ramps up efforts to distribute tourniquets amid city gun violence
Rosalind Pichardo has been ramping up her efforts over the last month to keep pace with the city's nightly shootings.
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Since the beginning of the year, Rosalind Pichardo has passed out 400 bags that include tourniquets and trained about 200 people.
She's been ramping up her efforts over the last month to keep pace with the city's nightly shootings.
"I'm hoping that I'm making an impact," said Pichardo. "Certainly when folks get to the ER or the trauma bay, they already have some sort of tourniquets."
Pichardo calls it "Operation Stop the Bleed."
She's been focused on handing out tourniquets to corner stores specifically near Kensington and Allegheny, businesses that usually see first hand stabbings and shootings.
Pichardo purchases the devices out of pocket with the help of her non profit, Operation Save Our City.
She's also known to include free gun locks and Narcan, as her Kensington neighborhood is the epicenter of the opioid epidemic.
She says her next big push is training people on how to use the tourniquets correctly.
"Until folks are on the same page about legislation and background checks and common sense laws, this is what we have to do survive in a community like mine," she said.
Pichardo will be distributing tourniquets this week and will also be doing training. She plans to expand to other neighborhoods.
