Nashville company donating 100 locks to schools, facilities in ‘Guardian Angel’ program
A local Nashville tech company, HavenLock, will donate 100 locks part of their “Guardian Angel” program to 30 Nashville buildings including schools in the wake of a mass shooting at a Green Hills elementary school last week.
The Tennessee-based company launched their “Guardian Angel” program which aims to provide and extra level of security for places such as classrooms, church gatherings, and medical facilities.
The CEO Alex Bertelli says the locks work on doors with glass, and can be mounted on the top of a door. You can lock the door with a simple press of a key fob or by pushing a button.
HavenLock demonstration video (Photo: Havenlock)
The veteran-owned company has customers within a one-mile radius of The Covenant School. Bertelli added that some customers have increased their security due to the recent shooting so close to home.
“We came to the conclusion that we can do more,” Bertelli said. “And help churches, schools, synagogues and medical facilities protect themselves from something like this in the future.”
Bertelli said he believes The Covenant School did everything right that they could have done in their active shooter incident, and that his security brings added security support to the Nashville community.
“No one would’ve thought something like this could happen in our hometown…but the reality of it is that it doesn’t matter if it is Uvalde or Parkland or Nashville,” says Bertelli. “These types of bad actors are going to continue to do bad things to people who can’t defend themselves and it’s up to us, as former veterans, to help people protect themselves.”
HavenLock’s biggest commercial partner is Johnson Controls, more specifically Qolsys. They agreed to support the “Guardian Angel” program launch with panel hardware.
Lock breach attempt on the exterior of the door (Video: HavenLock)
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has approved and certified the system aimed at protecting people in active intruder situations. The system has also been approved by the Fire Marshalls Office in the TN Department of Commerce and Insurance. The system is also fully tested and in compliance with all UL access control and fire standards.
Our goal with this program is to help provide extra security, safety, and peace of mind given the recent shooting in order to help our community heal together.
HavenLock was featured on SharkTank in 2019, and was given an off-camera offer that they declined. Since then, the lockdown program followed their own fundraising route.
HavenLock partners with Partnership Alliance for Safer Schools (PASS) which is a leading organization that provides comprehensive information on the best ways to secure school facilities. PASS has approved the membership and the product.
Bertelli said five schools has already applied for HavenLock to be installed in their building. Once a school or other facility applies for HavenLock to be installed, the company will asses the location and see if the security system is a fit for them.
If you are a school, church or medical facility in the Nashville area, you can apply for the program here.
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