Trillium developed a much-requested kit to help the community crisis centers in the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline’s network speak with one voice about the importance of their work and gain support for continuing it through recent government budget cuts and the national economic decline.
To identify how these vital community services could demonstrate their value, Trillium scoured the research on effectiveness of crisis center hotlines in preventing suicide. The team authored a groundbreaking white paper presenting the business case for suicide prevention. It showed that each death by suicide cost the Nation more than a million dollars in costs of response, medical services, and lost productivity, making it clear that crisis centers should be essential elements of any state and community behavioral health system.
Working with crisis center directors, Trillium then packaged the new concepts into a kit with promotional tools that require minimal effort on the part of these over-worked community organizations. The kit includes a PowerPoint presentation, a compelling video, and fact sheets directed at different funding sources, as well as the white paper. Our client showcased the kit at a major national conference on suicide prevention and received rave reviews from the more than 150 centers in the Lifeline network. One center director called it “a gift to the field.”