Roundup for Safety supports gun safety effort

The Roundup for Safety Board awarded $17,321 in community safety grants to nonprofits at its Nov. 10 meeting, including a $3,000 grant requested by the Nate Chute Foundation (NCF) for gun-safety locks.

The locks will be given to local school superintendents, administrators, psychologists and counselors to distribute to parents and caregivers with a firearm that may be accessible to minors.

Executive Director Kacy Howard presented on behalf of NCF, which is dedicated to reducing suicide rates in western Montana. NCF offers evidence-based training to area schools and organizations to identify suicidal behaviors. NCF sought to expand an existing partnership with the Flathead County Fetal, Infant, Maternal Mortality Review (FICMMR) team with this grant request. FICMMR, operating under DPHHS Montana, dedicated $3,000 to provide gunlocks to Kalispell’s School District 5. FICMMR asked NCF to partner with them to provide gunlocks to surrounding Flathead Valley schools, including the Whitefish, Columbia Falls, and Bigfork districts.

Howard shared research suggesting that one of the most effective ways to prevent suicide is to put time and space between the suicidal individual and the lethal means they have chosen to end their life. Many people contemplating suicide may experience suicidal ideation for a long time, but the actual duration of deliberation (from deciding to make an attempt to actually attempting) is typically under 10 minutes. Therefore; if a person deliberating suicide cannot access a firearm immediately, they will likely conclude their suicidal crisis before they have a chance to attempt. He also shared Flathead County rates of youth suicide are over twice the national average. In 2021, nine local young people died by suicide.

The board noted the partnership between the NCF, the Flathead County FICMMR, and the Kalispell, Whitefish, Columbia Falls, and Bigfork school districts. NCF is also working with local businesses Nelson's Hardware of Whitefish and Top Copy for affordable rates on the locks and the educational materials that accompany them.

Other projects funded during the November meeting included Cabinet Mountain Elite Wrestling, safety mats and wall padding, $4,000; David Thompson Search & Rescue, avalanche beacons, $3,889; Immanuel Lutheran Communities, three AEDs and cabinets, $4,800; Northwest Montana History Museum, panic bars, $1,632.

Roundup for Safety is a voluntary program for Flathead Electric Cooperative members who allow their electric bills to be rounded up to the next dollar. The extra money goes into a community fund for safety projects proposed by nonprofit organizations and evaluated by an independent board.

Since 1997, members of Flathead Electric Cooperative have rounded up their bills to a total of $4,572,122 for community safety project funds. If a nonprofit is interested in applying for community safety funds, visit www.flatheadelectric.com/roundup or call Courtney Stone at 406-751-1820. Grant applications are accepted on Flathead Electric Co-op's website and are due by the end of each month for consideration at the following month’s meeting.