What we do
Five pillars, each with a clear way to help. Together they carry one goal: safe schools and safe kids.
Connect and Heal
Grief and fear are easier to carry together. We hold regular, open community gatherings and quiet grief spaces, and we create volunteer roles so that everyone who wants to help has a real place to start.
We schedule gatherings on a steady rhythm, so this work does not depend on the news cycle.
Know the Signs
Sandy Hook Promise offers free Know the Signs programs, including Start With Hello and Say Something, that teach students and adults to recognize warning signs and speak up. We want every Central Oregon school to offer them.
We also want every family here to know about SafeOregon, the state’s school safety tip line, and to keep its number in their phones.
Lock It Up
Oregon law already requires firearms to be secured when they are not being carried or under the owner’s control, with tougher penalties if a minor gets access (Giffords Law Center summary). Many people do not know this.
We give out free gun locks and share plain-language guidance on the law. We do this with gun owners and hunters, not at them.
Care Network
When a school, a counselor or a family notices that a young person is struggling, the next step should not be a long wait. We are building a roster of Central Oregon clinicians who commit to fast appointments for young people flagged by schools, counselors or families.
As far as we know, no one else here is building this yet.
Advocate
Oregon’s Extreme Risk Protection Orders let a family member, a household member or a police officer ask a court to temporarily remove firearms from someone at risk of harming themselves or others (Oregon Law Help). Many families do not know this option exists. We help them understand it and how to use it.
In Oregon, firearm rules are set by the state Legislature, not by cities or counties (ORS 166.170). So our advocacy looks to Salem: a nonpartisan, outcome-focused state agenda, built with people from across Central Oregon. Our founding board will set the specific priorities.
Working alongside what already exists
Good tools already exist. Our job is to connect people to them, and to add what is missing here.
SafeOregon tip line
A statewide tip line, set up by state law under the Oregon State Police, for reporting threats, weapons, bullying or a student who may hurt themselves. A real person answers 24 hours a day, and you can stay anonymous.
Our role: Make it a household name for students and parents.
Central Oregon student threat assessment system
Schools, law enforcement, public mental health, the courts and juvenile justice working together to assess threats and plan for safety. Run through High Desert ESD.
Our role: Ask what they need, and offer clinician time for follow-up care.
Sandy Hook Promise Know the Signs
Free school programs, including Start With Hello and Say Something, and volunteer Promise Leaders.
Our role: Bring these programs to every Central Oregon school, and become local Promise Leaders.
Oregon Extreme Risk Protection Orders
Family members, household members or police can ask a court to remove guns from someone at risk, usually for one year.
Our role: Help families learn that it exists and how to use it.
S.A.F.E. and SEGURO secure storage project
Deschutes County's Suicide Prevention Program and the Central Oregon Suicide Prevention Alliance gave out more than 1,700 free lockboxes across Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties in 2024 and 2025, with messaging built with gun owners, law enforcement and retailers.
Our role: Amplify it, help it reach every town, and never duplicate it.
Healthy Schools and Sources of Strength
Deschutes County public health specialists work in every Bend-La Pine high school alongside student peer leaders. The county's 2025 evaluation credits the partnership with a 21 percent reduction in behavioral health emergency visits for ages 11 to 17.
Our role: Help bring the same model to Redmond, Sisters, Crook County and Jefferson County schools.
YouthLine
A free teen-to-teen help line for ages 10 to 24, run by Lines for Life, with trained teens answering from 4 to 10 p.m. every day and a call center in Bend.
Our role: Make it a household name alongside SafeOregon, and encourage local teens to volunteer.
NAMI Central Oregon
Free support groups, education and peer support for people living with mental health conditions and their families in Crook, Deschutes and Jefferson counties.
Our role: Learn from them and refer families to them.