Metro Area LOSS Team Update

In September our team welcomed six new team members to the LOSS Team. Of those six, five of them have already completed the new member orientation. Welcome to all of our new members!

Several of our team members had the opportunity to attend the National LOSS Conference in Fort Worth, Texas from September 28-29^th. The conference included keynotes from Dr. Frank Campbell, creator of the LOSS Team; Dr. Cindy Claassen, Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of North Texas Health and Sciences Center in Fort Worth; Stuart Smith, psychotherapist; and Josh Rivedal, actor, author, survivor, and professional speaker.

Some of the breakout sessions included postvention planning for schools, the correlation between addiction and suicide, how to improve collaboration within the community, the importance of using healing langue, understanding suicide grief, and helping children after a suicide.

I would like to give a huge thank you to Region 6 Behavioral Healthcare for making it possible for our team to attend such an impactful training. We cannot wait for next year’s conference!

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.