Real Gun or Fake? Learn the Differences at a DuPage Township Seminar

Could you identify a real gun from a pellet gun, BB gun or a painted water gun?

Could having a fake gun be life-threatening? 

DuPage Township will host a seminar March 20 to tackle those issues, as well as the use of BB and other "fake" guns in Will County crime and the dangers BB and pellet guns pose.

The seminar will be held at the Levy Center at 5:30 p.m. There will be free pizza and pop. 

The event is a collaboration between DuPage Township and the H.E.A.R.T. organization. H.E.A.R.T. assists teens 13 to 18 years of age in Will County who are in need of court-ordered community service compliance.

It is the first time DuPage Township will present this program, according to officials. 

The organizers said they scheduled the program to provide a resource following shootings in Newtown, CT, and Aurora, CO. 

The following scenario is printed on the program flyer: 

PARENTS, imaging yourself a police officer patrolling a dim, lit street or responding to a call for help in an alley, a park or a ATM! Suddenly you are FACE TO FACE wth a teenage kid or a drug-crazed addict AIMING A WEAPON AT YOU! The rush of adrenaline and the human instinct to survive overtakes you! What are you going to do? IF THAT GUN IS REAL you may only have seconds to make a life-changing decision. IF THAT GUN IS NOT REAL then what? 

Who Lives and Who Dies? 

More about H.E.A.R.T.: 

We are a one of its kind, unique intervention program assisting youth 13-18 years of age in Will County who are in need of court ordered community service compliance. We also offer an alternative to suspension program for high school students in the Valley View school district. Our program has taken the formerly used methods of serving community service and transformed it into a life changing experience for youth at risk and the alternative to suspension allows a student to continue their education verses being suspended which could jeopardize their future of graduating high school! We teach and counsel our students in juvenile law and its consequences, social and life skills coaching and we offer anger management counseling.  Our program opened its doors in 1999 and to date has serviced over 2100 children in the Will County area. Our program is aggressively working with the court system to help juveniles avoid convictions, regain focus, build confidence and gain respect for self, home and the community in which they live! Our sole mission is to:

“Help keep the CUFFS off kids.”