Event
Silver Rail Community Response
October 15–16, 2026
On Thursday, October 15, 2026, a shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend took the lives of three students and a teacher and left two others wounded. Police say a community member who saw the shooter enter the school followed him inside and stopped him before officers arrived, and Silver Rail's staff, first responders, and neighbors cared for the children through the hardest hours. That evening the community filled Drake Park for a candlelight vigil, proposed and sponsored by the Central Oregon group of Moms Demand Action, where Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler, Governor Tina Kotek, and faith leaders from across the region spoke.
On Friday, October 16, Bend-La Pine Schools, Deschutes County Health Services, and St. Charles Health System are hosting free, walk-in support for students, families, school staff, and anyone in the community who needs it: during the day through 3 p.m. at the Deschutes Public Library's Central Library (61956 SE Santorini St.), and from 4 to 7 p.m. at Larkspur Community Center (1600 SE Reed Market Road).
Support doesn't end this week. Teens and young adults can reach YouthLine, a teen-to-teen crisis and support line from Lines for Life, by texting teen2teen to 839863 or calling 877-968-8491. Anyone who is struggling can call or text 988, any time. NAMI Central Oregon offers free peer and family support groups, and Clear Mourning, ClearPath Healthcare, and Partners In Care offer grief support, including grief camps for children and teens.
Gratitude for everyone who stepped up sits right alongside grief for those we lost. The way to honor them is to remember whose lives were at stake and to keep showing up for this community in the weeks and months ahead, long after the cameras leave: in classrooms with empty seats, in hard conversations at home, and in the long work of caring for grieving families. The organizations below brought the community together and are carrying that work forward. Each listing shows how you can get involved, whether that is volunteering with Moms Demand Action, joining the Deschutes County Medical Reserve Corps, training as a NAMI support group leader, or supporting the schools, library, parks, and health system caring for Bend right now. Please respect the privacy of the families as you do.
Organizations taking part
Partners In Care is Central Oregon's only independent, nonprofit home health and hospice organization, and the state's first hospice service. It provides hospice, home health, palliative care, and bereavement support across Deschutes, Crook, and Jefferson counties, from branches in Bend, Redmond, and La Pine, and runs a hospice house in Bend.
Hospice volunteers offer companionship and support to patients and families through presence, not medical tasks, serving 2–8 hours a month (often 1–3 hours a week) for at least a year. Training includes a meeting with the volunteer coordinator, six hours of self-paced video, and one day of in-person orientation. Other volunteers help with fundraising, community education, and office support. Waiting about a year after a personal loss is recommended.
Lines for Life is an Oregon nonprofit dedicated to preventing substance use and suicide. It operates free, confidential crisis and support lines, including Oregon's 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, YouthLine for teens and young adults, and support lines for veterans and military families, alongside prevention education and training for communities across the state.
Volunteers answer calls on the in-person crisis line in Portland, supporting people facing suicidal thoughts, substance use issues, and loneliness after extensive training. Minimum age 21, background check and weekly commitment required.
YouthLine is a free, confidential teen-to-teen crisis and help line, a program of Lines for Life, where trained teen volunteers support other young people by phone, text, and chat, with adult clinicians available around the clock.
Teen volunteers are trained to answer YouthLine calls, texts, and chats, offering peer support to other youth with adult supervisors backing them up, and join outreach to spread the word in schools. Extensive training is provided.
Deschutes Public Library serves all of Deschutes County through branches in Bend, Redmond, Sisters, La Pine, and Sunriver, offering books and media, digital resources, storytimes and youth programs, adult learning and author events, and community spaces. Voter-approved bond projects are expanding and renovating libraries across the county, including a new central library in Bend.
Volunteers help at branches across Deschutes County with materials handling, programs and events, and outreach. There are separate applications for adults and youth ages 12 to 17; after applying, your local branch's volunteer liaison schedules a screening conversation. Teens in grades 6 to 12 can also join the Teen Library Council to plan and lead a mental health project and earn volunteer hours. In-person openings vary, so returning volunteers are sometimes invited first.
Clear Mourning is a Bend-based nonprofit working to shift the culture of grief, so people who have experienced profound or traumatic loss can grieve freely and learn to carry their grief into daily life. It offers grief support groups, workshops, yoga and meditation for grief, financial assistance through grief scholarships, and Camp Courage, a free summer day camp in Bend for children ages 5 to 12 who have lost a loved one.
Volunteers help run grief camps for kids, support workshops, support groups, and community events, and assist with outreach and fundraising. Volunteer roles are posted on the volunteer opportunities page.
Deschutes County Health Services
also known as DCHS; Deschutes County Public Health; Deschutes County Behavioral Health
Deschutes County Health Services (DCHS) provides public health and behavioral health programs county-wide, including public health clinics, school-based health centers, environmental health, crisis services, and outpatient and youth behavioral health. Its Medical Reserve Corps keeps a trained pool of medical and non-medical volunteers ready for health emergencies, disasters, and planned events. After the October 15, 2026 shooting at Silver Rail Elementary, DCHS co-hosted free walk-in crisis support with Bend-La Pine Schools and St. Charles Health System.
Medical Reserve Corps volunteers, both medical and non-medical, support emergency and disaster response, staff pre-planned community events, help with public health and behavioral health outreach and education, and take part in trainings, exercises, and drills. Assignments run from a few hours to several days, and volunteers can accept or decline each one. Residents can also serve on the Public Health and Behavioral Health advisory boards.
St. Charles Health System is Central Oregon's nonprofit health system, operating hospitals in Bend, Redmond, Prineville, and Madras along with family care and specialty clinics, hospice, and community health programs, serving people across the region.
Volunteers serve at St. Charles hospitals and clinics in Bend, Redmond, Prineville, and Madras, greeting and guiding patients and visitors, supporting patient units and waiting areas, staffing gift shops, and helping with hospice and caregiving programs. Teen volunteer opportunities are also offered.
ClearPath Healthcare, formerly Hospice of Redmond, is a local nonprofit that has cared for Central Oregon families since 1979. Now serving much of Deschutes, Crook, and Jefferson Counties, it provides hospice care, in-home primary care for homebound seniors, and free Transitions support for people facing serious illness, plus grief support open to anyone in the community, special care for veterans, and the Pet Peace of Mind program that cares for patients' pets.
Trained hospice volunteers are part of the care team: offering companionship and respite so family caregivers can rest, sitting vigil, supporting veterans through We Honor Veterans, and helping with grief support. Others help with the Pet Peace of Mind program, community events like the Festival of Trees and Light Up a Life, Camp Sunrise for grieving kids, and office work. No medical background is needed; training is provided.
Bend-La Pine Schools is the public school district serving Bend, La Pine, Sunriver, and surrounding communities in Deschutes County, with elementary, middle, and high schools, magnet and choice schools like Westside Village and REALMS, and programs such as the Teen Parent Program. Community volunteers help in classrooms, libraries, and at school events throughout the district.
Volunteers support students in schools across the district, helping in classrooms and libraries, chaperoning field trips, mentoring and tutoring, and helping with school events. Volunteers complete the district's volunteer application and background check before starting, then connect with a specific school. Many schools also have parent groups or foundations with their own volunteer roles.
Moms Demand Action - Central Oregon
also known as Central Oregon Moms Demand Action; Moms Demand Action Bend
The Central Oregon group of Moms Demand Action has been active in Bend since 2014 as a local group of the Oregon chapter. Its volunteers organize community gatherings such as the annual Wear Orange event each June, meet with lawmakers, and share safe firearm storage education with families. The group proposed and sponsored the candlelight vigil at Drake Park on October 15, 2026, following the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School. Volunteers are easy to spot at events in their red shirts.
Volunteers help with community events and vigils, legislative advocacy (contacting lawmakers, testifying, advocacy days in Salem), Be SMART safe firearm storage education, voter outreach, tabling at local events, and survivor support. Sign up online and check the box to be contacted about opportunities in your community to be connected with the Central Oregon group. Students Demand Action offers a path for high school and college students.
Bend Park and Recreation District manages Bend's parks, trails, and recreation facilities, including Juniper Swim & Fitness Center, Larkspur Community Center, and the Deschutes River Trail, and offers year-round sports, fitness, youth, and senior programs for residents of all ages and abilities.
Volunteers coach youth sports, help care for parks and trails through project days (weeding, litter cleanup, trail maintenance), and support recreation programs — including teen-specific roles like Cougar Camp counselors, Junior Lifeguard and Swim Instructor Aides. Teen volunteers must be 12+; volunteers 18+ complete a background check. Applications and orientation are required for most roles.
NAMI Central Oregon, the local affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, provides free support, education, and advocacy for people living with mental illness and their families, including peer and family support groups, classes, and community presentations that reduce stigma and help people find hope and recovery.
Volunteer roles include support group leaders and class teachers (with NAMI training, often people with lived experience), community presentations and outreach, local advocacy, events and fundraising, grant writing, graphic design and writing, and admin help. Start with the monthly online Volunteer Information Session, held the third Wednesday from 6 to 7 p.m. A background check is required.
End of the list. Every organization on this page is now showing.