Two Men Affected by Gun Violence 'Turn Pain into Purpose' as Leaders in the White House's New Gun Safety Office

Greg Jackson and Rob Wilcox, who serve as deputy directors in the first-ever Office of Gun Violence Prevention, open up to PEOPLE about the personal experiences that connect them with the mission

President Joe Biden's announcement that his administration had established the first-ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention was, for Greg Jackson and Rob Wilcox, a long time coming.

With deep roots in policy and activism, the two men — who now serve as deputy directors of the new White House office — had spent years urging lawmakers to take more action to deter gun violence, inspired by their personal attachments to the issue.

It was roughly 10 years ago when Jackson was shot while walking down the street in Washington, D.C. — a decade earlier, Wilcox’s 19 year-old cousin, Laura, was killed when a gunman entered the behavioral clinic she was working in and shot her four times at point-blank range.

As Jackson explains, surviving a shooting made him an activist "not by choice but by circumstance."

Related: White House Hears Gen Z's Plea to Address Gun Violence: 'Turned Our Calls for More Action into Reality'

"In April 2013, I was caught in the middle of crossfire when a bullet shot and hit me in two arteries, nearly costing me my life," he tells PEOPLE. "I'll never forget arriving in the hospital and being told I only had about 26 minutes to live."

Jackson made it out of surgery despite his earlier prognosis, ultimately undergoing five more surgical procedures and enduring a six-month recovery in the hospital.

"When I was in the hospital bed, I turned on the TV and watched elected leaders make excuses about why they couldn't pass [stricter pieces of gun legislation]," Jackson says, noting that his own recovery took place not long after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

"This was a hot topic in the national media," Jackson continues, "but the conversation seemed more like a political debate than an effort to save lives."

Related: Joe Biden Addresses U.S. Gun Violence 1 Year After Highland Park Shooting

In 2001, Wilcox's cousin was fatally shot in northern California while filling in as a receptionist during her college's winter break. More than 20 years later, Wilcox tells PEOPLE he still remembers the most granular details of her funeral service.

"I can see sunlight going through the windows and the specks of dust shimmering," he says.  "I can see the room packed with people crying — every one of my family members was broken up."

Like Jackson, Wilcox's connection to gun violence led him to question "how guns end up in the wrong places and in the wrong hands."

The two both set out on their own journeys, working at various gun violence prevention organizations before joining together at the White House's new Office of Gun Violence Prevention, which will be overseen by Vice President Kamala Harris.

In a statement announcing the new federal office, Biden, 80, said its establishment came in the absence of "sorely-needed action" from Congress, which has yet to pass widely supported legislation that would enact universal background checks and ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

“I’ll continue to urge Congress to take commonsense actions that the majority of Americans support," Biden said. "But in the absence of that sorely-needed action, the Office of Gun Violence Prevention along with the rest of my Administration will continue to do everything it can to combat the epidemic of gun violence that is tearing our families, our communities, and our country apart."

Related: President Joe Biden Signs Bipartisan Gun Safety Bill into Law: 'Lives Will Be Saved'

Watching the president officially announce the new office, Wilcox says, signifies "an incredible mark of progress" — one for survivors like he and Jackson, as well as those who haven't been directly impacted by gun violence.

"I don't know that you have to be this close to the pain to see the need for change," Wilcox says. "But as the president had said, some of us turn pain into purpose."

As Jackson explains, the new office will build on what he calls "historic progress" already made by the Biden administration. That includes Biden's signing of the 2022 "Bipartisan Safer Communities Act," which enacts commonsense gun laws and provides funding for mental health support and anti-violence programs.

"Approaches to address domestic violence, suicide prevention … a lot that’s already in motion," Jackson says. "But the first major change will be to expedite implementation of those efforts, because every second they aren't in effect, a life could be lost."

Related: After Buffalo Mass Shooting, President Biden Condemns 'Hate-Fueled Domestic Terrorism'

The office also aims to expand partnerships in states and local communities to advance measures locally that haven't yet been implemented on the federal level, and to improve services and support for victims and communities affected by gun violence.

"I went to Buffalo after the 2022 shooting and witnessed hundreds of cameras but didn't see a huge presence of support beyond law enforcement," Jackson says. "That’s not what we would see after a hurricane or natural disaster and helping people heal is a big part of reducing these cycles of violence."

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But the White House has also acknowledged that it still wants to see more congressional action, including the passage of legislation that would ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, require safe storage of guns, end gun manufacturers’ immunity from liability, and enact universal background checks.

With their work cut out for them, both Wilcox and Jackson agree that the conversation around gun violence has shifted since their own experiences lead them to first become passionate about the work.

"Survivors have gone from telling their story to advancing legislation," Jackson tells PEOPLE. "This movement of survivors taking leadership is directly connected to the progress we see."

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