SUICIDE SURVIVORS

June 2005

With at least four suicides reported in the local newspaper the Wenatchee World in the past few months and with probably a dozen or more in the Greater Wenatchee area, the Good Grief Center would like to remind you that we have a support group for the friends and families of suicide victims.

The suicide rate in the nation is rising. Suicide now ranks eighth on the list of the causes of death in the United States. You can compare this with thirteenth for homicide and see that we have a problem.

Suicide is a special kind of death. When one loses someone to this kind of death, it is surrounded with guilt, fear, and other emotions. Often because of the stigma of suicide, the friends and family of the victim do not seek help or ever talk about the event, carrying their grief and guilt alone.

The Good Grief Center has in place a support system for the survivors of such an event. The support group meets the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 7 p.m. at the Good Grief Center. The three facilitators of the group, Rhonda Johnson, Margie Jones and Randy Petersen are survivors of the suicides of immediate family members. They are not certified counselors, but rather trained members, who know that suicide is a special kind of death. We certainly hope that you will pass on this information to those who might need the services of the group. Additionally, we are available for one to one sessions, if a person does not want to be in a group.

We, the facilitators, know that getting help leads to the road to recovery. We know that the victim will never be far from our thoughts, but we can make that grief journey easier.

For more information, please contact the Good Grief Center at 662-6069