Oregon State officials study firearm suicide prevention

 

Over half of Oregon’s suicides were by firearm last year. Oregon’s newly instated task force is dedicated to studying community safety and suicide-by-gun prevention.

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Cable locks are a low-cost method of restricting access to firearms (Shutterstock)

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PORTLAND, Ore. — Suicide and death by firearm have risen in Oregon since the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the state epidemiologist, more than half of Oregon’s suicides were by firearm last year.

 

The rising incidents of suicide by firearm are not unique to Oregon. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that U.S. gun suicides reached an all-time high in 2022.

 

To address these issues, the Oregon Senate passed Bill 1503 earlier this year to establish the Task Force on Community Safety and Firearm Suicide Prevention.

 

The task force encompasses Oregon’s geographic and demographic diversity. Its 17 appointed members have varied professional expertise and personal proximity to firearms, suicide, and suicide prevention. Task force members include Oregon State Sen. Floyd Prozanski and Sen. David Brock Smith.

 

During the task force’s initial meeting on Oct. 2, member Dean Sidelinger reported preliminary statistics that 901 Oregonians died by suicide last year, with 495 of those deaths by firearm. Sidelinger is Oregon State’s health officer and epidemiologist.
 

Several members stated the need for statewide communication and support networks across regions and organizations. “My goal for this is coordination,” said task force co-chair Donna-Marie Drucker. “Together we're so powerful.”

 

The task force will study at-risk communities and youth, firearm storage, and how to destigmatize conversations about mental health and suicidal ideation, among other related topics. “It’s a matter of opening eyes,” said Andy Leonard.

 

Leonard is a task force member and tribal representative for the suicide prevention program of Warm Springs Reservations. “The majority of our people here are different sections of relations. So everybody knows everybody, pretty much. The impact of somebody passing away is really hard on us; it’s like a snowball.”

 

Task force member and police Lt. Christopher Burley called for more walk-in resources. “It’s unfortunate that law enforcement is one of the only in-person, 24/7 accessible systems.” Burley currently serves in the Portland Police’s Behavioral Health Unit.

 

James Dixon is a task force member representing Oregonian Veterans and a peer support facilitator at Social Neuroscience and Psychotherapy Lab, which offers psychedelic-based therapy for veterans. The suicide rate for Veterans is 57% higher than non-Veteran adults in the United States. According to the Veterans Association’s most recent data study, 72% of veteran suicides were by firearm in 2021.

 

Dixon is also a Black youth suicide prevention coordinator for the Multnomah County Health Department. Dixon emphasized the role postvention plays in developing preventative community programs.

 

Postventions support a community and collect data after an individual has completed suicide. “I call it culturally responsive data and collection,” said Dixon. “We don't want to be investigating. That's why we want to take this information and let it inform how that supports them in the future.”

 

The task force met on Oct. 2 and Nov. 4. Their next meeting is scheduled for Monday, Dec. 2 at 10 a.m. The task force has been allocated a $250 thousand budget for a research study and received proposals from Oregon State University and Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.

 

The task force is scheduled to continue through the end of 2026.