Programs
Advancing Suicide Prevention
We support community-led suicide prevention across Oregon through low-barrier grants, safe storage initiatives, and evidence-based trainings that reduce risk, strengthen local coalitions, and save lives.
Grants
We support existing suicide prevention coalitions by funding community-driven initiatives.
Each coalition receives up to $20,000 to address local needs, such as distributing care boxes for safe storage of firearms and other lethal means. Grant recipients participate in monthly collaborative meetings with other coalitions to share progress and receive ongoing technical assistance. The University of Oregon Suicide Prevention Lab collaborates with other organizations to provide additional support through evaluation and consultation.
This initiative reflects ORBIT's (Oregon Behavioral Health Innovation and Training) commitment to community-led, evidence-informed suicide prevention, helping Oregon communities save lives and strengthen connections.
Initiatives
Safe Storage for Lethal Means
The Safe Storage Initiative is a cornerstone of ORBIT's (Oregon Behavioral Health Innovation and Training) suicide prevention work, providing communities across Oregon with free and accessible gun lock boxes, medication lock boxes, and other safe storage devices. This low-barrier program ensures that individuals and organizations—from community mental health programs to crisis response teams—can easily obtain the tools they need to reduce access to lethal means and promote safety at home and in the community.
ORBIT (Oregon Behavioral Health Innovation and Training) partners with the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and other regional providers to distribute safe storage supplies during mobile crisis trainings, suicide prevention initiatives, and community events. While much of this work is supported through grant funding, ORBIT (Oregon Behavioral Health Innovation and Training) also offers the option for organizations to purchase additional safe storage devices directly, ensuring ongoing access even as funding cycles change.
For more information on safe storage for lethal means, please contact us.
TRAININGS
Supporting Suicide Prevention
We offer a range of suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention trainings designed to support community safety and staff confidence.
These include Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST), a two-day, evidence-based workshop that equips participants to recognize and respond to people who may be thinking about suicide. Our Connect training is a best-practice program that helps families, workplaces, and communities respond with care and compassion following a suicide or sudden death. OCALM is an 8-hour, Oregon-adapted course for healthcare and direct service providers focused on discussing suicide risk and reducing access to lethal means.
These trainings strengthen Oregon’s capacity to respond to suicide risk with skill, compassion, and a coordinated, community-centered approach.
Support for Supporters
We offer a range of suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention trainings designed to support community safety and staff confidence.