One of the hardest parts of losing someone to suicide is the feeling of being alone and like no one understands what you are experiencing. Fortunately, there are organizations like the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, which each year hosts hundreds of events around the country for survivors of suicide loss. One such event is coming to the Castle Country Area on Saturday, Nov. 23, with a meeting for International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day.
Suicide Prevention Specialist Amanda McIntosh joined Castle Country Radio to discuss the event and its importance to our community.
McIntosh opened by discussing the recent question, persuade, refer trainings hosted by the Southeast Utah Health Department,” Great information was put out into the community. And that lifesaving tool is now in the hands of many of our community members … We know that suicide is not discriminatory, so everyone has the potential to have a mental health crisis. And so having those tools in your pocket to to lean on and to pull from and knowing the resources locally, statewide and nationwide that they can turn to when they need a little bit more help is super important to keeping somebody alive.”
Following the recap, McIntosh shifted focus onto the ISOL event, which will be held on Saturday, Nov. 23 at the Carbon County Country Club. “It’s just an opportunity for survivors in our communities to pull together and network and learn to heal and go through the grief process together, lean on one another with similar experiences, and ultimately heal,” explained McIntosh,” with suicide loss, there’s an extra added layer of grief. And that’s the shoulda, woulda, couldas, and the guilt that comes with losing somebody in your family to suicide. And so to be able to sit in a room with people who have had similar experiences and may have found different ways of coping through those emotions is helpful and can change the lives of people that have this major grief.”
As a part of this event, McIntosh is putting together a slideshow of loved ones lost to suicide,” I want to take the opportunity to highlight the people in our community that we’ve lost to suicide. This is something that other areas do every year where they pull pictures in and create a slideshow presentation to remember our loved ones because they’re more than how they died.” McIntosh continued,” So by being able to put faces to these people and names and know a little bit about them helps keep their memory alive and in a positive way.”
To participate in this slideshow, email your loved ones’ photo and dates to Mcintosh by email at amcintosh@utah.gov by Thursday, Nov. 21.
This event will also allow survivors of suicide loss to share the different modes of healing they use. As a part of this, McIntosh is requesting attendees bring something that helped them through their loss,” we ask that you bring a piece of art or a poem or a, you know, a piece of music, you know, a score of music or a song title or whatnot so that we can share all of those things and what those items mean to us and how it’s helped us move through really hard times in hopes that maybe it’ll inspire somebody else to lean on an art form.”
Because of the brunch provided, McIntosh asks that those who wish to attend do so by following this link.
Bookending our conversation, McIntosh shared,” I just would like everybody to know that everybody’s welcome. Please bring your family, your friends, and anybody who has been affected by a loss to suicide. Come join our family and feel the love and support that fills this room always.”
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention’s International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day event will be held on Saturday, Nov. 23 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Carbon County Country Club. For more information, you can visit the event’s Facebook page here.