On day one of Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, we explore how postvention becomes prevention—through families who consent to share a loved one’s device so the Black Box Project can detect real-world patterns that help save lives.

Kim Burditt Bartlett, MSW —   She is a suicide loss sibling and Senior Manager of Family Engagement for Stop Soldier Suicide’s Black Box Project. She creates trauma-informed resources and co-founded Sibling Strong Retreats. 

What is the Black Box Project is (plainly):
A research and care initiative at Stop Soldier Suicide that, with family consent, analyzes data from devices of people who died by suicide to identify behavioral patterns and risk signals. Those insights are used to build models and interventions that reach others sooner. The project recently released its first findings (“The White Letter" - just released Aug 2025)

Want to consider sending your loved one's device? 

REACH KIM DIRECTLY HERE [email protected] 

or at Direct phone: 919-275-0045

Why this matters today:

• Postvention isn’t just legacy; done right, it directly informs intervention and prevention.
• Families are not just “donors of data”—they’re co-authors of new pathways to care.
• September is noisy; this is signal.

In this episode we cover:

• Kim’s brother Jon, and the path from personal loss to system-level change.
• How families are engaged, consent is handled, and what “dignity-first” looks like in practice.
• What the first findings suggest about detectable shifts before a death—and the limits of what data can and can’t say.
• The core thesis: postvention → pattern → earlier intervention → prevention.
• Practical ways civilians (not just military families) can learn, share, or contribute to this work.

Resources & links mentioned (or omitted):

• Stop Soldier Suicide — Black Box Project overview (learn, participate, or donate a device): [stopsoldiersuicide.org/blackboxproject]
  Stop Soldier Suicide/Black Box Project
• Sibling grief: unique burdens, overlooked needs, and why peer connection matters --Sibling Strong Retreats (Kim’s work for bereaved siblings). Sibling 

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