​OSSA/OASR/OFSC Safety Wellness Update,  May 2022
 Date:     May 1, 2022
 From:    Kerry Spurgin, President, Oregon State Shooting Association.
  
In mid-2021 OSSA  launched the “Safety-Wellness Program” (www.ossa.org/safety-wellness).  The program has 4 key areas in Basic safety, Safe storage, Childs Safety, and Suicide Prevention.   We have 3 key goals to drive.

• GOAL 1:  Develop and deploy “Firearms Safety and Wellness Info/Brochure kiosks" in 80 % of OSSA Clubs.
• GOAL 2:  Establish ongoing child safety/education classes, in 80% of OSSA Clubs, and train 2X each club's current member count (community outreach)
• GOAL 3:  Establish and deploy New Member Orientation suicide prevention training tools (presentation, video, …) in 80% of OSSA clubs.

 
Along the way we found great partners in the Oregon Association of Shooting Ranges (OASR) and the Oregon Firearms Safety Coalition (OFSC).   OASR brings a trusted relationship with our key clubs in Oregon. In addition, OASR pledged $10,000 in support of the program.   OFSC is an organization focused on bridging the gap of firearms suicide awareness and the firearms community. Through these key partnerships we hope to bring key education and connections to the firearms community to make a statewide impact on firearms safety.
 
In addition, we have a close relationship with The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and their Project 2025 Program.
 
Lastly, The National Shooting Sports Foundation has partnered and in supplying materials and brochures at no charge.
 
We have made considerable progress to our goals.
 

• GOAL 1:  Develop and deploy “Firearms Safety and Wellness Info/Brochure kiosks" in 80 % of OSSA Clubs.
  • 18 of 30 clubs have the information kiosks deployed.  Each of these were completed with a personal review of the program to club leadership.
  • Next steps are to deliver the remaining kiosks over the next 3 months.
• GOAL 2:  Establish ongoing child safety/education classes, in 80% of OSSA Clubs, and train 2X each club's current member count (community outreach)
  • Honestly, this goal has struggled in its original conception.   A number of clubs have junior programs (SB, Trap, Hunters Education, firearms safety,…  But the intent to reach younger children with programs like Eddie Eagle, Project Child Safe, and Kids Safe Foundation have not been accomplished.
  • Next steps are to leverage existing programs to capture the younger kids in age approriate education activities. 
• GOAL 3:  Establish and deploy New Member Orientation suicide prevention training tools (presentation, video, …) in 80% of OSSA clubs.
  • Through our relationship with OFSC and AFSP we have produced a video for clubs to use.    15 of our 30 clubs have had showings to leadership, members, and new members.
  • With the recent release to youtube, we expect wider and more consistent use.   

 
Share our Suicide prevention video, with club members, new members, and the community     Here are the links.   www.ossa.org/video  or     https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR7JLE15wt0
 
OSSA/OASR/OFSC Monthly Safety-Wellness Sharing Sessions: 

• To accelerate progress to our goals we have started a monthly sharing session to keep the safety-Wellness goals in front of our club leaders. Increase sharing and increase the support clubs can offer each other.   The first session is May 3, 2022. 

 
Kerry Spurgin, President, Oregon State Shooting Association

The Oregon Suicide Prevention video has been created and is coming SOON!       

We hope to have it in all clubs as a part of new member and existing member orientations on suicide prevention.

Many thanks to Ryan Price and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) for funding the production.

Our goal is to make this a start of a bigger goal.  Wouldn’t it be great if all states had these videos?  To make this a possibility we will need to collect some information on the initial viewings to feed back to AFSP.  With this we hope we can get their support for a wider effort.
 
HERE IS THE LAUNCH PLAN:
WHEN:            February-March, 2022
WHAT needs to be done: 

• For the months of Feb-March we will enable clubs to use the video for their group sessions.  
• At those group sessions, we need the coordinator to collect survey data on the impact and response from the viewers.

HOW:    Contact Kerry Spurgin at president@ossa.org  to be on the list of our lead clubs. 
​​

The Oregon Health Authority has stepped in and helped by providing posters versions of our OSSA Safety-Wellness Program. 

These are available to member clubs, at no cost, for use at the Clubhouse, at individual ranges, or other places their members frequent.

Many thanks to Galli Murray, of Clackamas Cunty Health, for connecting us in our effort to save lives. 

Contact Kerry Spurgin at President@OSSA.org for your set.

The Oregon State Shooting Association has established a set of goals, for our 2021-2022 fiscal year, to educate and enable firearms owners, and their communities, with key resources, to improve safe storage, keep our children safe, and bring awareness and tools to help those with mental wellness.

GOAL 1:  Develop and deploy “Firearms Safety and Wellness Info/Brochure kiosks" in 80 % of OSSA Clubs.

• Update:     An initial kiosk has been developed for clubs to use.  50% of clubs deployed
• Next Steps:   Deploy remaining clubs by March, 2022

GOAL 2:  Establish ongoing child safety/education classes, in 80% of OSSA Clubs, and train 2X each club's current member count (community outreach)

• Update:  Surveying clubs of existing programs has started.  TCGC already has a great program. 
• Next Steps: 
  • Will need to develop and present initial options for clubs to try. 
  • The intent is to create models on all 3 options (Eddie Eagle, Project ChildSafe, Kids SAFE Foundation.
  • The key challenge will be to have clear champions at each club.   
  • The Goal of the number trained will be a challenge.  This will need focus to achieve. 

GOAL 3:  Establish and deploy New Member Orientation suicide prevention training tools (presentation, video, …) in 80% of OSSA clubs.

• Update: 
  • American Foundation for Suicide Prevention funded a professional video from Oregon Firearms Owners to Oregon Firearms Owners.   
  • Video filming was completed on November 19, 2021.   
  • The production company has a rev.0 and is working on edits.   
  • We expect a final product by January, 2022. 
• Next Steps: 
  • Once the video is released in January, it will be time to work with member clubs to formalize their New Member Orientation or other means to reach members.

Stay Tuned!1

Contact:   Kerry Spurgin

​On December 2, 2021 Teh VFW, OFSC, and OSSA/OASR connected to enable the VFW to participate in QPR training that is launching around the state.  Tentative plans were set to align and include local VFW posts in the QPR training being lauched by Gunclubs and connected county departments.     

AFSP Project 2025 and Oregon Firearms Safety Council Sponsors Oregon Suicide Prevention Video.
11/19/2021
Contact:   Kerry Spurgin

On November 19, 2021 the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention funded a professional video shoot.  The product, which should be available by mid January, 2022,   The 5 min video is from oregon firearms owners to oregon firearms owners to raise awareness and identify tools that can be used to reduce firearms suicide.   

The video is intended to be distrubuted and used as a part of newmember orientations across Oregon gun clubs. 

Stay Tuned!
​

NOVEMBER 10, 2021
NSSF, AREA LEADERS LAUNCH “PROJECT CHILDSAFE ALBUQUERQUE” FIREARM SAFETY INITIATIVE
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. –

The National Shooting Sports Foundation® (NSSF®), Albuquerque City Councilors Brook Bassan and Klarissa Peña, representatives from Albuquerque Public Schools, the New Mexico State Police, the New Mexico Department of Game & Fish, and the Albuquerque Police Department—together with local firearm retailers and training organizations—today launched “Project ChildSafe® Albuquerque” city-wide to help prevent firearm accidents and aid in suicide prevention efforts.

“We’re launching Project ChildSafe Albuquerque with the goal of helping reduce child gun accidents, thefts, suicides and misuse of firearms,” said Joe Bartozzi, NSSF’s President and CEO and Chairman of the Project ChildSafe Foundation. “Central to all of this is a goal to encourage gun owners to store their firearms responsibly. We know safe and responsible gun storage works, and helps save lives.”

More...

Contact:  Derek LeBlanc

​Walk the Talk America is leading the conversation to bridge the gap between the firearms and mental health communities. Their efforts are bringing together many diverse demographics who all want to combat suicide by normalizing discussions around mental wellness, individual rights and personal responsibilities. During this course
attendees can expect to:

• increase understanding of suicide by firearm and its disproportionate presence in American culture, particularly as it relates to overall firearm deaths
• improve their understanding of the stigma related to mental health care among gun owners including veterans and first responders
• improve their understanding of firearms, “red flag laws”, counseling strategies, and basic human emotional functioning

Douglas Ridge Rifle Club and Clackamas County Partner to deliver QPR training to save lives from suicide

Contact:  Fred Weaver, DRRC

In October 2021, Douglas Ridge Rifle Club was our first club to partner with their county on suicide prevention training. 

The QPR class is the CPR of the Suicide prevention tools.   QPR (Question-Persuade-Refer) is the standard for approaching someone at risk for suicide.   

This "County and Gun Club partnership" is the first of many.  By partnering in the community our firearms community can lead inthe prevention of suicide.  

Galli Murray, Clackamas County's Suicide Prevention Coordinator, describes the importance of this new partnership:

“Including the firearm community in the work of suicide prevention is something that should have happened long ago and by not having these folks at the table, we’ve missed out on some major opportunities to partner in this work. The partnership between DRRC and Clackamas County will allow us to take suicide prevention in Clackamas County to a whole other level and, ultimately, save more lives. By inviting us to provide QPR training to DRRC, the club is signaling a few very important things to its members and the community. The first is that by having QPR offered on site at the club, DRRC is essentially saying to its members and the community: 'we are going to talk about hard stuff here (suicide and mental health) and it’s okay.' The second thing that DRRC is doing is creating an environment where members and the community, in 90 minutes or less, can be trained to know exactly what to do if they are worried about someone and know exactly where to get help.”

TriCounty Gun Club and Washington County are scheduled for January, 2022.