Group Leaders are peer support survivors and professional.

The support group meetings are designed to support survivors of suicide, meaning the family and friends of those who have died by suicide. An attempt survivor is a person who has attempted but not completed, the act of taking their own life.

Often family members and friends have reactions that include, depression, grief, feelings of being overwhelmed, abandonment, hurt, sorrow, guilt, anger and many others. There seems to always be one question; "How could my loved one / friend do this to themselves or to me? After a suicide, it is important for survivors to seek support if needed; they are at greater risk of suicide.

Our goal is to help those effected by suicide, to find some relief from the pain, find some level of understanding, and integrate this loss into their life. We hope to help survivors gather up the pieces and move forward with their lives. Learning to cope with the grief will take a different amount of time for everyone, from weeks or months to years.

In Alaska our Chaplains Program has been an organization that offers Survivors of Suicide Support Group meetings. Our facilitators are trained in group dynamics, acquainted with grief, trained in traumatic stress and suicide: postvention, prevention and intervention.