* WTAX…

A new partnership to raise awareness about the lifesaving potential of Firearm Restraining Orders (FROs), or “red flag laws,” is launching today during National Public Health Week involving the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), Brady: United Against Gun Violence, and the Ad Council.

The Illinois effort is the first phase of a planned multi-state campaign called “Pause to Heal.” It is designed to prevent firearm suicides and other shootings by educating the public about the state’s FRO law, and the power that family and household members have to ask a court to temporarily restrict access to guns and ammunition when a person poses a threat to themselves or others.

Though FROs can be highly effective, a recent study from the Ad Council Research Institute (ACRI) and Joyce Foundation found that only 10% of Illinoisans are familiar with these potentially life-saving tools and know how to use them if needed. The new campaign aims to bolster awareness of these interventions, featuring a new website PauseToHeal and ads that will launch today across radio, digital, print, and outdoor with video PSAs to come starting later this year.

* From Mike Claffey at IDPH yesterday…

For this first phase of the campaign, IDPH is partnering with the Ad Council and Brady, who have funded the new “Pause to Heal” campaign focused on educating people in Illinois about FROs. Assets for the new campaign roll out statewide today across digital, radio, print and outdoor. The Ad Council works within a donated media model, meaning media partners provide space and time at no cost to the nonprofit, helping to spread awareness about critical social issues, like this lifesaving firearm restraining order education program.

* I’ve combined both the 15-second and 30-second ads into one file…