Survivors of Suicide:Those Left Behind To Be Held Tomorrow

Augusta – Almost 100 people from across the state and as far away as Houlton who have lost a loved one to suicide will be attending a unique all-day conference at the Senator Inn on Friday. They will be joined by clinicians who are experts in crisis support to learn more about the complicated nature of grief following suicide.

The conference, “Survivors of Suicide: Those Left Behind”, is being hosted by the Maine Chapter of the American Foundation For Suicide Prevention (AFSP) and the Maine Youth Suicide Prevention Program (MYSPP) and represents the culmination of 2 years of planning by the two groups. Members of the public who have lost a relative or close friend to suicide are encouraged to attend. Admission is $25.

“We started out wanting to reduce the social stigma of suicide and to lessen the suffering of those who have lost a loved-one to suicide,” said Suzanne Benoit, Chair of the Maine Chapter of AFSP. “When the conference was announced there was an immediate and overwhelming response. There are a number of families coming who are reaching out to us for the first time. To me, that means we are making real progress towards our goal of decreasing the social stigma of suicide for survivors”

Several national experts in suicide prevention and crisis support will be featured speakers at the conference. They include Dr. Frank Campbell, the director of the Baton Rouge, Louisiana Crisis Intervention Center (BRCIC) and one of the best-known crisis clinicians in the field; Buddy Knox, a Team Coordinator at BRCIC who has lost two family members to suicide; and Dr. John McIntosh, an author, researcher and educator at Indiana University who has special interests in supporting survivors of suicide and in the epidemiology of suicide.

“Bringing professionals and survivors together has real advantages,” said Cheryl DiCara, Chair of Maine Youth Suicide Prevention Program, “because few helping professionals have training in supporting survivors of suicide. This conference is a great way for both groups to get excellent, factual information on the complicated grief process following a suicide and for professionals to hear how survivors wish to be supported.”

The format of the conference is three large group sessions and a special session at the end of the day exclusively for family members and friends who have lost a loved one to suicide. This special session is designed to allow survivors to process some of the strong feelings that may come up during the presentations. When suicide is discussed, it can raise emotions for survivors that are best discussed with other survivors. The group experience is an essential healing force for survivors – where they can be themselves and speak with candor.

“I have received phone calls and emails from survivor families wanting to bring their siblings or children for a meaningful family experience,” said Ms. Benoit. “Their response is an indication of how few opportunities they have to fee safe in discussions of their loved-one’s suicide. The timing appears to be right for this topic in Maine today”

The Maine Youth Suicide Prevention Program, a program of the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet, began in 1998 with a focus on building awareness of the problem of youth suicide and improving access to helping services statewide. Since that time, the program has provided training, educational resources, consultation and guidelines to many individuals, schools and communities across the state. The program also features a toll free 24-hour statewide Crisis Hotline and a statewide Information Resource Center.

“Suicide is a serious health issue in Maine which claims an average of 170 Maine lives each year” according to Cheryl DiCara, Coordinator of the MYSPP. Maine’s suicide rate was ranked 20th in the nation for all ages in 2002. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for Maine young people between the ages of 15 and 34 and our teen (ages 15-19) suicide rate is almost 50% higher than the national teen suicide rate. “We hope to continue to work with the AFSP Maine to meet our common goals of suicide prevention in the future,” said DiCara.

More information about suicide prevention is available by calling the Information Resource Center toll free at 1-800-499-0027 or by visiting the World Wide Web at www.maine.gov/suicide. The statewide crisis hotline for anyone in immediate need of crisis services is 1-888-568-1112.