Metro Area LOSS Team Monthly Update

Metro Area LOSS Team Monthly Update

This month The Metro Area LOSS Team welcomed two new members to the team! We are anxiously preparing for a new member orientation sometime in mid-August. If you or someone you know has an interest in getting involved in the team, now is the time to apply!

At our June meeting we had the opportunity to welcome our very own team member, Martha Wells of UNMC, to come and train us on LGBTQ Cultural Humility. Martha spoke to the team about the LGBTQ community as a whole and how we can be more supportive and inclusive to this group.

Did you know that suicide is the number one cause of death for individuals who identify as LGBTQ and nearly half of these individuals have attempted suicide at least once? However, with adequate support from family and friends suicide risk can significantly decrease. For great information and resources about suicide and the LGBTQ community, please go to The Trevor Project at www.trevorproject.org.

In July, The Metro Area LOSS Team will be celebrating our one year anniversary! On July 19^th, our team will be celebrating with a party in lieu of our regular monthly meeting. I want to expresses my most sincere gratitude to our many volunteer clinicians and survivors who have dedicated many hours, sweat, and tears to making The Metro Area LOSS Team possible. It is because of you that we are able to provide outreach and support to families during their darkest hours. Thank you to each and every one of you.

Our 24/7 LOSS phone is to be used only by sheriffs, chaplains, and any other first responders responding to a suicide call. It is not a suicide prevention hotline. If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call 1(800)273-TALK (8255) or 911, if it is an emergency. If you or someone you know has recently lost someone to suicide and would like to schedule a meeting with the on-call LOSS team, please contact The Kim Foundation at (402)891-6911.

Jill Hamilton, Project Coordinator, The Kim Foundation

Jill Hamilton has been the Project Coordinator at The Kim Foundation since 2014. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and public relations from The University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2009. Since working at the foundation, she has become an active member of the Nebraska State Suicide Prevention Coalition, Nebraska LOSS Advisory Committee, The Omaha Metro Hoarding Taskforce, The Early Childhood Mental Health Coalition, Nebraska State Conference Planning Committee, is Chair of the Nebraska LOSS Teams Conference Planning Committee, and serves as the Outreach Coordinator for the Metro Area LOSS Team.