Have You Lost Someone to Suicide?

A suicide loss can be a traumatic unexpected event in someone’s life. It is common for people who have lost someone to suicide to experience anger, extreme pain, guilt, shame, isolation, and intense grief. You are not alone in your experiences. A person who has experienced loss of a loved one by suicide is called  a “suicide loss survivor”. Here are resources to support you.

Guides & Websites

People / Groups to Help

Procedures / Guidelines

Guides & Websites

  • Help and Hope Toolkit (Stop Suicide Northeast Indiana)
    Brief information on grieving a suicide loss, including topics such as how to talk to a child about the suicide death, handing social media accounts and memorial services, and other resources. This is designed for families immediately following the news of their loved one’s suicide.
  • Surviving a Suicide Loss Healing Guide (American Foundation for Suicide Prevention)
    32 page guides that provides information about coping with loss, the survivor loss community, and resources to help with your journey.
  • Dougy Center
    Resources for various ages groups to learn about and heal from suicide [and other] losses
  • Alliance of Hope for Suicide Loss Survivors
    Information and support (online forum and one-on-one consultations) for loss survivors.
  • Books for loss survivors – American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide have extensive lists of books for individuals and families.
three women consoling each other

People / Groups to Help

  • Suicide Loss Support Groups offered across the state and on-line help those who have lost someone to suicide find others to heal with. Both SAVE and AFSP maintain lists of support groups (some of which are via Zoom) or you can use our Resource page (link to Resources Page) to find out where the closest one is to you.
  • AFSP Healing Conversations gives survivors of suicide loss the opportunity to speak with volunteers, who are themselves loss survivors, to offer understanding and guidance in the weeks and months following a suicide death.
  • AFSP list of bereavement trained therapists
  • LOSS Teams – Trained suicide loss survivors and other volunteers that provide practical support, connection to resources, and instillation of hope after a suicide loss. Learn more.
  • Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS)

Procedures/Guidelines to Help Organizations Respond to a Suicide Loss