Third annual Safe Kids Gulf Coast Program

Holiday travel and beyond will be safer now for dozens of South Mississippi children and infants thanks to a car seat giveaway and demonstration in Gulfport.

A special delivery for some South Mississippi families Friday morning. They drove away with car seats thanks to the Safe Kids Gulf Coast Program. Brad Williams is one of the driving forces behind this annual giveaway. Safe Kids Gulf Coast Co-Director Brad Williams said, “Nineteen years ago, I was certified to inspect car seats. It became such an immediate gratification to see a problem and be able to fix it. I never gave it up. We just grew it, and grew it, and grew it.”

This is the third year the car seats have been distributed at Mercy Housing in Gulfport although they had to take a different course of action this year. “We actually found a way finally this year to do an event for people who need a car seat and not become an epicenter for COVID. We did a ZOOM meeting yesterday in which all the parents got instruction on how to properly install their car seat. Today they’re picking them up, and we’re watching them as they put them in.”

In all, 30 car seats will be distributed to South Mississippi families thanks to a helping hand from several local agencies. Safe Kids Gulf Coast Co-Director Xuan Tran said, “We have Biloxi police who are a part of this. We have Mercy Housing Human Development, Mississippi Department of Health, and a wealth of other partnering organizations. We want to give a big shout out to Pass Christian Police Sergeant John Dedeaux. He was such a great help in getting us the car seats and also spreading the word about car seat safety.”

Safety measures these event organizers also took into their own hands as they ensure all car seats were properly installed and the children buckled in properly as they rolled away.