A peer support group has been established to assist and support those who have suffered the loss of a loved one to suicide, particularly welcoming those who’s experience has been for over a year.
Deep mourning is entirely normal, and lessens with time, often subsiding within the first year.
But with suicide, those who have suffered the loss often experience a much more long lasting sorrow and depression, lasting for periods of up to 10 years. A support group is sometimes very helpful in navigating through this much longer period of recovery from the trauma.
This is a separate group from the helpful Hospice Society peer grief support programs Healing From Loss and Bereaved Parents.
The group being formed will meet from 7 to 9 p.m. PM on the first Thursday of each month at the Community Justice Centre, Suite E - 450 Eighth Street in Courtenay (between England and Fitzgerald). Call the Community Justice Centre (250-334-8101) to leave your name and phone number if you are interested in joining this group.
There is no obligation, no fee, and participants are free to come and see if this approach through sharing conversation and discussion with those who are also travelling the journey of grief, is one that is helpful.
The group will determine how it operates month to month, and the course it will follow entirely on its own. It is not a professional counselling group and is organized by a volunteer with experience of suicide over five years ago who knows how long the suffering goes on.
— Community Justice Centre