Lessening the impact of suicide
When someone dies due to suicide, the effect on those touched by it – families, friends, communities – is immediate and traumatic.
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Suicide often happens unexpectedly and leaves people with many questions about what to do next. Loved ones, family, friends and communities often struggle to cope, and it can be difficult to know how to respond.
In these circumstances, people need clear and practical information which they can rely on for guidance and direction.
When a person takes their own life, it can increase the risk of suicide in other vulnerable people. International research has identified a phenomenon known as ‘suicide contagion’, where a person’s knowledge of (or exposure to) a suicide increases the likelihood of them viewing suicide as an option. Young people are found to be particularly susceptible to suicide contagion. This ripple effect is another reason why it’s vital that people have the right tools to deal with the trauma that follows a suicide.
Postvention refers to the coordinated support required during the aftermath of a suicide, with a dual focus on bereavement support and suicide prevention amongst the bereaved and within the wider impacted community.’ (www.postventionaustralia.org)
Those supported through postvention are not just bereaved family or friends, but all those whose lives are changed because of the loss. This can include witnesses, first responders, health care providers, sporting clubs, community groups, employers and work colleagues.
That is why as part of the Place-Based Suicide Prevention Trials, the Youth Support and Advocacy Service (YSAS), Jesuit Social Services, Su-Rose McIntrye and lived experience contributors came together to develop a toolkit for people bereaved by suicide and sudden loss in south east Melbourne.
Called ‘Growing around Grief’, the toolkit aims to support a cross section of the community including children, young people and first responders, in responding to the impact of suicide. It’s a practical guide that offers suggestions about managing suicide and sudden loss and focuses on what to do straight after suicide, in the first 24 hours, in the first week, in the first month and in the longer term.
Suicide touches many more people than we may think. According to Suicide Prevention Australia, eighty-nine percent of people have been exposed to at least one person having attempted suicide and 37% say that the death had a significant and devastating effect that they continue to feel.
Suicide touches many more people than we may think. According to Suicide Prevention Australia, eighty-nine percent of people have been exposed to at least one person having attempted suicide and 37% say that the death had a significant and devastating effect that they continue to feel.
Resources such as this ‘Growing around Grief’ toolkit were produced with a strong emphasis on building community resilience through peer-led and lived experience activities.
Suicide postvention is an important aspect of helping reduce or limit the impact of suicide. Just as there is a negative ripple effect of suicide, there can also be a positive ripple of change. SEMPHN’s suicide prevention activities are keys to this ongoing work.
The ‘Growing around Grief’ toolkit will be available early 2023 at
www.semphn.org.au.
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