Community partnerships are working to save lives and help those in need obtain car seats and have them installed properly for free.

For the second year, New Beginnings Crisis Pregnancy Center and Clark County Community Services are continuing to educate people on the dangers associated with not having their children properly restrained while in a motor vehicle.

New Beginnings plans to host two trainings a month starting in early fall and continuing until all 75 car seats are gone.

Those who are interested must attend a two-hour class taught by a certified technician before they can qualify for a car seat. Once they have passed the class, they will go to Winchester Fire-EMS, who will properly install the new car seats, which are provided through a grant.

Becki Arvin, executive director of New Beginnings, said the purpose of the partnership is to prevent deaths.

“We are trying to reduce child fatalities,” Arvin said, “For the safety of the child, they need to be restrained properly, a lot of parents know that it’s important but maybe they don’t realize exactly how important.”   

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the leading cause of death among children in the U.S. is motor vehicle injuries, most of which can be prevented with the use of car seats.

One study by the CDC found in a single year more than 618,000 children ages 0-12 at some point rode in a vehicle without any safety restrains at all.

In 2016, children 12 and under who died in a crash where restraint use was known, 35 percent were not buckled up.

These are the kinds of nonsensical deaths Clark County Community Services, New Beginnings and Winchester Fire-EMS are working to prevent.

There is no charge or fees for the class or the car seats and anyone can register.

“Car seats are not cheap,” Arvin said, “So we would like to provide a way to help families to be able to help their children be safe while they ride in a car.”

New Beginnings hopes to have the car seats in by the end of July, so they can start trainings in the fall.

Arvin said for those who are interested in more information about when classes will be available and how to register, call New Beginnings at 859-744-5688.