“The resources and the help and the hope that they can provide is just invaluable,” Precinct 2 Executive Assistant Kathy Pierce said at a Dec. 9 Commissioners Court meeting.
About the program
The LOSS program will send two trained volunteers, including at least one suicide loss survivor, to the scene of a suicide, helping connect families or individuals with community resources.
“Yes, we have a great support system here within Williamson County ... however, many of those folks are not someone who’s been down this path,” Senior Death Inquest Investigator Ruben Leal said at the meeting.
County officials are finalizing program details such as logistics, volunteer training requirements and procedures in order to integrate the program into local response protocols, a county news release states.
The impact
The original LOSS program was created in 1998 in Louisiana. Frank Campbell’s work at the Baton Rouge Crisis and Trauma Center found that those affected by suicide waited more than four years on average to seek help.
Williamson County’s LOSS program implements the model created by Campbell, aiming to connect suicide loss survivors with support earlier, according to the release.
“If we can reduce those numbers and get them to support sooner ... then we’ve succeeded,” Leal said. “And if we can reduce [suicides] by one, then we’ve definitely succeeded.”
Get involved
Those interested in volunteering can email Leal at [email protected]. Loss survivors and other community members are encouraged to inquire, the release states.
The national suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988.
