About Us
Mission
CALM teaches clinicians, gun owners, and the general public strategies to reduce an at-risk person’s access to highly lethal means, especially firearms. We use collaborative methods that preserve life, liberty, and the at-risk person’s decisional autonomy.
We aim to create a new clinical and social norm: when a client or someone you know is distressed enough to consider suicide, conversations about reducing access to firearms and dangerous medications should become a routine part of care and support. Alongside clinical or social support, these collaborative discussions can protect individuals until they have recovered.
Our History
CALM was developed in New Hampshire to equip mental health providers with collaborative and effective counseling strategies on reducing access to lethal means – especially firearms – that can be shared with patients and families. When someone is at risk for suicide, focused, compassionate conversations can save lives. CALM methods were also designed to help providers–many of whom are not gun owners–have respectful, culturally appropriate ways that resonate with gun-owning families and individuals. Since then, CALM training has been provided thousands of times across the country through both in-person workshops and multiple online adaptations, including a version specifically tailored for pediatricians and hosted by the American Academy of Pediatrics. CALM training has also been provided in live virtual sessions, offering access to CALM training programs while encouraging interactive experiences with both instructors and colleagues.
Principals & Trainers
Board
In Memory of Elaine Frank, MHS
Elaine Frank was a pioneering leader in injury prevention whose work helped shape the national conversation at the intersection of firearm safety and suicide prevention. For more than fifteen years, she dedicated her career to building meaningful, life-saving connections between public health and firearm communities.
Elaine was the co-developer of CALM (Counseling on Access to Lethal Means) and the Gun Shop Project—two groundbreaking initiatives that have empowered thousands of individuals and organizations to engage in practical, respectful conversations about safe storage and suicide prevention. Through her work in program development, training, and consultation, she brought people together across disciplines, always with a focus on shared goals and mutual respect.
Her approach was thoughtful, collaborative, and deeply human. Elaine believed in meeting people where they are, and in the power of partnership to create lasting change. Her influence continues to be felt in communities across the country through the programs she helped build and the countless lives impacted by them.
We are profoundly grateful for Elaine’s vision, leadership, and unwavering commitment to prevention. Her legacy lives on in the continued work of CALM and in all those who carry her mission forward.