ENTERPRISE — The Wallowa Valley Center for Wellness recently was awarded a grant as part of Oregon’s Zero-Suicide Initiative.

Through a series of mini-grants, Wallowa Valley Center for Wellness received $32,150, said Dean Carson, a communication officer with the Oregon Health Authority.

Amy Busch, Wallowa Valley Center for Wellness public relations and development director, said the center will work to expand its veteran peer-support specialist position from a part-time position to full-time. The center also plans to offer two Mental Health First Aid training programs to veterans and loved ones, with an expected number of 10 participants per training.

“This grant allows us to build our suicide-awareness education program and tailor this education to veterans and the military community, something we have wanted to do for a long time but did not have the funding to do so,” Busch said. “We are hoping this funding is a catalyst in securing additional funding for this position and education offerings for veterans around additional mental-wellness topics.”

The zero-suicide mini-grants, which divided a total of $139,737 between the Center for Wellness, Marion County Health and Human Services, the Multnomah County Health Department, Providence Health and Services and Samaritan Health Services Inc., are intended to fund suicide-prevention activities.

The funding was open to all community mental health programs in Oregon, and organizations had until Aug. 13 to apply for the grant. A review committee made the decisions about which applications to fund.

“This grant opportunity was distributed broadly to health systems and partners and advocates in the field of suicide prevention earlier this summer,” Carson said. “To be eligible, applicants were required to operate in a health or behavioral health care field and demonstrate either attendance at a previous zero-suicide academy or the adoption of zero-suicide implementation,” Carson said.

If you or someone you know is struggling with thoughts of suicide, there are many resources in Oregon, including:

• The Wallowa Valley Center for Wellness 24/7 crisis line can be reached by calling 541-398-1175.

• Lines for Life can be reached by calling or texting 988.

• The Oregon AgriStress Helpline, a crisis line designed to serve Oregon’s agricultural and forestry workers, can be reached 24/7 by calling or texting 833-897-2474.