2020 brings additional policy and program areas and a growing staff!

We are excited to announce additional areas of focus for State of Safety in 2020.  These areas were selected after careful review of how we can maximize our impact to reduce gun violence in Oregon. Our successes in 2018 and 2019 of increasing public awareness about the importance of safe storage for public health, and elevating safe storage as a legislative priority, will drive the work of our sister organization, State of Safety Action, in passing safe gun storage legislation in 2020. 

Here are the 2020 policy and program work areas for State of Safety:

West Coast Policy Coalition - In collaboration with gun violence prevention advocates and academics, we are promoting the formation of a West Coast Coalition to analyze and strengthen gun safety policies. This multi-state project should result in improved understanding of the regional impact of state policies on gun violence, and provide a guide for future work on gun violence prevention in Oregon and along the West Coast. 

Firearm Suicide Prevention Program  - In partnership with the Oregon Public Health Association, State of Safety is supporting the development of a new program to reduce firearm suicide in Oregon.  Oregon has an overall suicide rate 20% above the national average, and a firearm suicide rate more than 50% above the national average in 23 of Oregon’s 36 counties. By partnering with healthcare organizations to develop curriculum and programs that specifically addess firearm suicide, State of Safety hopes to reduce the number of firearm suicides that occur each year. 

Gun Violence within Communities of Color - To better understand the nature and impact of gun violence in communities of color, and to further our mission of reducing gun violence for all Oregonians, State of Safety will work to understand and support existing culturally specific gun violence prevention programs. 

Domestic & Intimate Partner Gun Violence Prevention - Working with domestic violence prevention groups and women’s organizations, State of Safety will assess where we can best collaborate and support programs to reduce domestic and intimate partner gun violence. Conflicts in homes with firearms are much more likely to end in the death of women, children, and other family members. Domestic violence is also frequently a part of the family and personal history of mass shooters. 

We are pleased to announce Zev Braun joined State of Safety in December 2019 as Director of Policy and Programs to support our work in these new areas.

As Director of Policy and Programs, Zev will be involved in all the policy and programmatic work for State of Safety. A native of Hood River, Oregon, Zev graduated from Grinnell College in 2015 with a Bachelor’s in Biology and Neuroscience, and received a Master’s in Public Health from Boston University in 2019. 

Zev became passionate about gun violence prevention while teaching students traumatized by the Umpqua Community College mass shooting, and experiencing the inaction of Congress to pass common-sense gun safety legislation. As part of his public health studies, he produced a comparison of gun violence prevention policies and programs across the U.S., and authored an article on America’s gun culture from multiple interviews with gun owners and gun range instructors.

With his return to Portland, Zev is eager to apply his public health perspective and experiences to reducing gun violence in Oregon. In his free time, Zev enjoys cycling, rock climbing, backpacking, and otherwise exploring parts of the Northwest off the beaten path.