Building skills, confidence, and
connection across Oregon’s behavioral
health workforce.
Our Reach, Over Time
For more than a decade, ORBIT has strengthened Oregon’s behavioral health system by equipping the people and teams who respond when care is most needed. Our impact is cumulative, statewide, and rooted in long-term partnerships.
Our Reach, Over Time
For more than a decade, ORBIT has strengthened Oregon’s behavioral health system by equipping the people and teams who respond when care is most needed. Our impact is cumulative, statewide, and rooted in long-term partnerships.
By The Numbers
Mental Health
First Aid
(MHFA)
Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST)
Connect
Postvention
Training
Oregon Counseling
on Access to Lethal
Means (OCALM)
Motivational
Interviewing
(MI)
Behavioral
Health
Summit
the past three years
Mobile Crisis Training
and Communities
of Practice
supported statewide
response capacity
ORBIT’s trainings and communities of practice support professionals across Oregon’s behavioral health and crisis response system.
Who We Work With
- Clinicians, social workers, and licensed providers
- Crisis responders and mobile crisis teams
- Peer support specialists and community health workers
- Supervisors, managers, and behavioral health directors
- School counselors, social workers, and youth-serving professionals
- Substance use and addiction counselors
- Corrections, veteran services, and public safety personnel
- Prevention leaders and community coalition staff
This breadth allows ORBIT to strengthen not just individual skills, but the systems those professionals work within.
What Participants Say
“I felt like I learned more in the three days of Mobile Crisis training than I have in the four years I’ve been in the field.”
— QMHA, Josephine County
“The Mental Health First Aid course gave me the confidence to respond thoughtfully and help people feel safe.”
— MHFA Participant, Southern Oregon
“The Behavioral Health Summit was a great opportunity to learn, connect, and compare systems across counties.”
— Clinical Supervisor, Josephine County
Why It Matters
Oregon’s behavioral health system is stretched thin. Workforce burnout, rising community need, and limited resources place enormous pressure on those providing care.
ORBIT exists to reinforce that system—by building skills, strengthening relationships, and creating spaces for learning, collaboration, and support. When professionals are prepared and connected, communities are safer and more resilient.
Person-Centered Intake
Local insight that reshaped statewide policy.
One of our most influential efforts began with CMHP leaders who saw promise in Treat First, an approach from New Mexico that emphasizes early therapeutic engagement. Inspired by its potential, they asked how Oregon might adapt the model.
With support from AOCMHP and investment from the Oregon Health Authority and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, we facilitated a statewide pilot—Rapid Engagement—helping providers test person-centered intake practices and learn from each other.
The work led to significant revisions to Oregon’s Entry & Assessment and Service Planning rules. These changes give providers greater flexibility to build early therapeutic alliances and respond to client needs.
Safe Storage for Lethal Means
A simple, scalable solution built from community insight.
When coalitions across Oregon identified safe firearm and medication storage as a major gap in suicide prevention, we partnered with them to build a practical system that matched regional realities.
Communities shared that families wanted safe storage options but lacked affordable tools. Suicide prevention partners emphasized the need for a coordinated, low-barrier way to get these supplies into local hands.
Through a partnership with Bi-Mart, we helped establish a statewide process for accessing free or low-cost gun locks and medication lockboxes. Communities can now request supplies quickly, distribute them through trusted local networks, and strengthen a culture of care and prevention.
This initiative shows how community-identified needs—paired with responsive support and strong local partnerships—can create measurable, statewide impact.