Delaware Coalition for Injury Prevention
Suicide Prevention Team

Team Leader:

Elizabeth McCourt, J.D. , Director of Crisis Services, ContactLifeline, Inc.

Member Agencies:

ContactLifeline, Inc., Mental Health Association of Delaware, NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) of Delaware, New Directions Delaware

Key Objectives:

Promote suicide prevention as a preventable public health problem, engage in primary prevention through education and gate-keeper training, identify and target at-risk groups in Delaware and provide connection to state and community resources, and enhance existing crisis intervention services available to those in immediate need.

Projects by Member Agencies:

1. ContactLifeline achieved a five-year accreditation through the American Association of Suicidology and maintains its status as Delaware’s only AAS accredited affiliate of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network.  In 2008 ContactLifeline’s Crisis Helpline received over 2500 calls from individuals in Delaware through the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline network and connected callers with intervention and counseling resources.
2. The Delaware State Suicide Prevention Coalition sponsored the second State Suicide Prevention Conference, with over 300 attendees. The conference highlighted the comprehensive Delaware Suicide Prevention Plan, which mirrors the National Suicide Prevention Plan. The Coalition received a $500,000. Garrett Lee Smith Youth Suicide Prevention award, which will fund such initiatives as gatekeeper training, youth suicide prevention toolkits, a high school peer to peer program, a warm line transfer between ContactLifeline and Child Mental Health, and a teen Lifeline website as a portal to youth suicide prevention information and activities.
3. Mental Health Association of Delaware provided over 20 different support groups weekly throughout the state for those experiencing depression, an anxiety disorder, or the loss of a friend or loved one to suicide. These support groups, including the Grief and Healing Survivors of Suicide support groups, often supplement existing treatment services and can help to prevent problems from intensifying while providing connection to additional community resources.
4. NAMI-DE’s Warm Line is a free service available during workday hours. It is staffed by support services personnel who provide emotional support for families and loved ones dealing with serious mental illness. Problem-solving and communication techniques are reviewed with empathy, crisis and relapse periods are discussed, and care for the caregiver is encouraged. Information about coping strategies and other helpful resources (groups, agencies, books, videos, websites, etc.) is shared.
5. New Directions Delaware (affiliated chapter of the Depression and Bi-Polar Support Alliance) held monthly support meetings and two twelve-week seminars on depression and bi-polar disorder, offering mutual support and education for persons with depression, bipolar disorder, and suicidal ideation, their families, and their friends in 2008.
6. In 2007, the State Department of Corrections developed and implemented a suicide prevention policy supported by gate keeper training for all employees working in state correctional facilities. Throughout 2008, this suicide prevention training was provided for all new employees.

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