North Texas Behavioral Health Authority launches LOSS outreach in Rockwall County

Amy Sanders, director of LOSS (Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors) and Mental Health First Aid at the North Texas Behavioral Health Authority (NTBHA), told the Rockwall County Commissioners Court on Aug. 26 that NTBHA is launching a LOSS program in Rockwall County to provide outreach, resources and long-term caring contacts to people who have lost someone to suicide.

Sanders said LOSS uses volunteer teams made up largely of people who themselves are suicide survivors; volunteers deliver resource packets, provide care coordination and maintain “caring contacts” with survivors for a year or more. The program offers restoration services, referrals to mental-health care, support-group information, and assistance with other needs such as rental assistance if a death affected a household’s income.

Sanders described two response options the LOSS team is developing: a delayed contact model (currently in use, where community members or law-enforcement notify LOSS and LOSS follows up later) and an on-scene response (where trained LOSS volunteers would meet survivors at scenes once it is appropriate and law-enforcement and investigators have cleared scene activity). Sanders said on-scene response is more powerful but requires careful training and procedural agreements because death scenes can be active investigations.

Sanders asked the court and county departments to help by creating notification pathways so LOSS is made aware when a suicide occurs in the county. She specifically mentioned law-enforcement agencies, the sheriff’s office and the justice of the peace as possible notification sources. Sanders said NTBHA has provided sample “care packages” (tissues, water and resource materials) that could be handed to survivors on scene by officers if local departments agree to do so.

Court members and staff asked procedural questions during the presentation about the notification process and whether local first responders could give the packets at scene; Sanders said some local jurisdictions already accept and distribute the packets and that NTBHA is writing on-scene and delayed-response procedures to share with law enforcement and other partners. Sanders asked the court for assistance with names and contact information for justice-of-the-peace offices, local police and the sheriff’s office so LOSS can be notified promptly.

Sanders said the LOSS effort is new in Rockwall County and currently relies on word-of-mouth and volunteers; she is the primary staff member for the program locally but said volunteers and partner providers will deliver most services. She said NTBHA hopes to keep survivors engaged up to 18 months or two years through caring contacts and to build survivor-led support groups in the county as the program grows.

The court did not take a formal vote during the presentation. Commissioners thanked Sanders and indicated they would assist with collecting contact information for on-scene notification and justice-of-the-peace outreach. Sanders said she would follow up with county staff about next steps for procedure development and notification protocols.