UNL sending wallet cards to first responders

The University of Nebraska Public Policy Center is making wallet cards to help first responders know how to approach the scene of a suicide.

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The University of Nebraska Public Policy Center is making wallet cards to help first responders know how to approach the scene of a suicide and to help survivors get the resources they need to heal.

Quinn Lewandowski, a senior researcher with the Public Policy Center, says the idea came to him after seeing the impact responding to a suicide had on members of a fire department.

“A few of the responding members were really quite affected by the by the scene,” Lewandowski said.

Lewandowski came up with the idea to create wallet cards to help first responders cope.

“We got to thinking, it would be great if there were some succinct messages and reminders for first responders that we could share with agencies and just kind of provide them with a little extra support,” he said.

Lewandowski partnered with the Local Outreach to Suicide Survivors (LOSS) team in Lincoln to develop the cards for first responders and survivors of suicide loss.

“It’s usually very sudden and very shocking,” Lincoln-Lancaster County LOSS volunteer Shawna Hightree said. “There’s not a known path, you don’t know that this death is going to occur. A lot of times, the families feel like it’s a total shock.”

Teal cards provide information for first responders on how to approach and leave the scene of a suicide loss, while purple cards are catered to help survivors of suicide loss with messages of hope on the front and a list of resources on the back.

“We know that postvention is prevention for the future,” Hightree said.

According to UNL, the project was funded by using rolled-over savings from a federal suicide prevention grant to print the cards. The cards are currently being printed and will be sent to first responder agencies, but are also available for anyone to download  here.