Local volunteer ‘loss team’ asks Cooke County to match $4,000 donation to expand post‑suicide support

Jonna Green, founder and coordinator of the Cooke County Loss Team, told the Cooke County Commissioners Court on Oct. 11 that her volunteer group provides immediate, 24/7 post‑suicide support and asked the court to consider matching a $4,000 donation she has committed to the nonprofit.

Green said the Loss Team deploys two‑person volunteer teams and that “I have actually 20 volunteers, that go out in teams of 2.” She described volunteers as mental‑health professionals, social workers, clergy and suicide survivors who provide immediate practical and emotional help to families after a death by suicide.

The request matters because the group said it fills gaps between crisis response and longer‑term services. Green said the team works closely with local schools and has helped families with cleanup services, hotel rooms and immediate supplies. “Each family member gets a bag that’s got approximately about a $100 that we spend at least on those bags of providing immediate resources for them,” she said.

Green said the county has suffered recent losses among students: “maybe you may not have known or aware or not, but we have lost 3 students since February in our county,” and the team has been involved in school outreach, including helping start a Hope Squad and planning community outreach events. She also described veteran outreach and public messaging the Loss Team pays for, saying they run ads on three billboards on I‑35 and U.S. 82.

The group is volunteer‑run and relies on local support, Green said: “We are the only loss team in America, and we have gotten recognized for it. We’re the only loss team that is 100% volunteer run.” She asked commissioners to consider incorporating financial support into the county budget or to otherwise “work that in where you could help support us.”

At the hearing Green did not present a formal grant application or a motion; she offered the donation and a request that the commissioners consider matching it during budget deliberations. No formal action was recorded during her remarks.

The Loss Team’s presentation included specific immediate needs it fills — hotel rooms, cleanup assistance, food, and the care bags — and the group emphasized its school‑based liaison role and collaborations with other local mental‑health efforts.

The commission did not vote or take formal action on Green’s request at the hearing; her remarks were presented as part of the county’s department budget hearings and were entered into the record for consideration during the budget process.