Survivors After Suicide

Surviving the suicide of someone close to you is one of the most traumatic experiences a person will ever endure. For a time it seems that the pain is unending. The Survivors After Suicide (SAS) program at Didi Hirsch Community Mental Health Center has been helping survivors find their way since 1980.

The Survivors After Suicide program understands the special needs of those who have suffered this difficult kind of loss. The group was co-founded by a survivor after her twenty-three-year-old brother died by suicide. After searching alone for answers and relief from her pain, she found help by talking to others who shared similar experiences.

Losing someone to suicide can cause depression, grief, feelings of loss, shame, isolation, anger, guilt, shock, and disbelief. Often survivors ask themselves why their loved one died by suicide. If a survivor has been handling the difficult task of emotionally or financially supporting a chronically mentally ill loved one who dies by suicide, he or she might even feel relieved that the burden is gone, while simultaneously feeling guilty for feeling relieved. Any given survivor might feel some or all of these emotions, and working through these complicated feelings can feel overwhelming.

Our goal is to help group members cope with their grief and pain so they can move forward in their lives in a positive and productive way. Participants say the group offers a place where they are able to talk with others who understand because they, too, have lost someone to suicide. They can share experiences, ask questions, and disclose feelings that they are often unable to express elsewhere. This process facilitates healing.

Most important, participants find a place where there is no shame, no stigma and no isolation involved in being a survivor.

Program Description

The primary feature of the Survivors After Suicide program is an eight-week support group. Groups are typically composed of six to ten survivors. Only those who have lost a loved one to suicide are eligible to participate in the support group. A group will meet once a week for one and a half hours, for eight consecutive weeks. The same people will be in a group for the entire eight weeks; it is not a "drop-in" group. This allows group members to develop safe, secure bonds with each other, thereby improving their healing process.

Groups are led by a therapist with expertise in suicide bereavement, and co-facilitated by a survivor who has lost a loved one to suicide, went through the eight-week group program, and now volunteers his or her time to help others.

Reading materials regarding surviving the loss of a loved one to suicide are handed out at the beginning of each of the eight sessions. This allows survivors to learn more about the grieving process in between group meetings.

Groups are held in West Los Angeles (Culver City), the San Fernando Valley (Burbank), the South Bay (Redondo Beach), and the San Gabriel Valley (San Gabriel). Groups are typically held weekday nights from 7:30 - 9:00, or Saturday mornings from 9:30 to 11:00, depending on location.

Survivors After Suicide asks for a donation of $25 for each of the eight group sessions. This is a donation, not a fee, and we would never turn a group member away for lack of ability to pay. Group members may donate whatever is financially comfortable for them each week.

Follow-up meetings offer ongoing support after the eight-week group. Those who complete the eight-week program may attend these monthly meetings for as long as they feel the need.

After completing a group, survivors are also sent a quarterly newsletter, free of charge. Issues of the newsletter may viewed here.

To sign up for a Survivors After Suicide support group in the greater Los Angeles area, please call (310) 895-2326.