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.”

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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.