By Elle Wood

MILFORD – The Chamber of Commerce for Greater Milford welcomed DJ’s Alliance to the Milford family on Saturday with a ribbon cutting at the Milford Police Department.

DJ’s Alliance is a nonprofit organization that connects those grieving from suicide loss with peers and resources in Delaware.

Jennifer Antonik founded the organization after noticing what little resources she had when she lost her husband to suicide in 2021. She and her team created DJ’s Alliance, which is the first organization of its kind in Delaware.

“There is nothing like what we are doing right now in the state,” said Ms. Antonik. “We are the first of its kind.”

Many of the founding members had suicide affect them in some way, so they wanted to create programs that provide others with the support they wish they experienced in their time of need. The programs they offer include peer-to-peer support, community outreach and postvention support.

The ribbon cutting ceremony was a good way to officially start providing services to the First State

“We are very excited to start our programming,” said Ms. Antonik. “Today is kind of the big launch for that.”

The work that Ms. Antonik put into starting the organization has given opportunities for them to connect with many other organizations to get people the support they need.

“It’s definitely a different type of trauma,” said Kasey Gonzalez-Cruz, the chair of DJ’s Alliance. “And because of the work that Jen has put in to start DJ’s Alliance, then asking us to come along has opened us up to some pretty amazing people.”

They understand that the work they do is not something that people may discuss every day. However, it is something that many people go through each year.

Many people do not know what others are going through because there was never an organization like DJ’s Alliance until now.

“When we think about suicide loss, it is not something we talk about often,” said Mr. Gonzalez-Cruz. “Death as a whole is not something we talk about as a society.

“But it affects all different types of people from all different walks of life.”

He is excited to be a part of the DJ’s Alliance team as they continue to grow in Delaware.

“I can’t wait to see where this goes,” said Mr. Gonzalez-Cruz. “I never thought that it was going to be to this level.”

His goal from the beginning was to have a way to support others battling the loss of a loved one by suicide as much as he could. DJ’s Alliance is giving him the opportunity to do so.

“When we first started, I said I wanted to be able to touch every single person who has ever been affected by suicide.”

For more information about DJ’s Alliance visit djsalliance.com.