NEED IMMEDIATE HELP?
Suicide and Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988.
Chat: 988lifeline.org
Veterans Crisis Line 988 and then dial 1
Brien Center Crisis Line: 1-800-252-0227
Established in 2009, The Berkshire Coalition for Suicide Prevention (BCSP) is a grassroots 501c3 non-profit organization dedicated to providing suicide prevention resources, loss and healing programs, professional trainings, advocacy efforts and hope to our local community.
BCSP is a regional coalition of the Massachusetts Coalition for Suicide Prevention; an organization dedicated to creating awareness and mobilizing community action in response to the public health crisis of suicide in the Commonwealth.
Our Mission
Our mission is to save lives.
Together we can build resilience in our community, educate the public, and strengthen the response to community need.
Coalition Launches Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors
(LOSS) Team in Berkshire County
Berkshire Coalition for Suicide Prevention board members attended training by Dr. Frank Campbell for the newly launched Berkshire County LOSS (Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors) Team. LOSS teams are made up of trained volunteers, many who are suicide loss survivors. These volunteers go to the scene of a suicide to provide support, information about available resources, and hope to the newly bereaved. Dr. Campbell launched the first LOSS team in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in 1998 after twenty years working with people who had lost a loved one to suicide. Based on Dr. Campbell’s Active Postvention Model (APM), the goal of the LOSS model is to make sure survivors do not wait years to get the help they need to cope with this devastating and traumatic loss. Without postvention, the average length of time that survivors of suicide loss take to reach out for help is 4.5 years; research shows that people bereaved by a suicide loss are at increased risk for dying by suicide themselves. The Berkshire County LOSS team will work in conjunction with the Berkshire County District Attorney’s Office.