U.S. PRACTITIONERS CALLED UPON TO IMPROVE SUICIDE GRIEF SUPPORT NATIONALLY

Note: Anyone who works in the field of suicide grief support is invited to read the "Suicide Bereavement Caregivers Statement of Purpose" and comment on it here.

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This Memorial Day -- in honor of all of who have died by suicide and those who mourn their loss -- a call to action, the "Suicide Bereavement Caregivers Statement of Purpose," is being delivered to grief practitioners across the United States, including

• funeral professionals, 
  
• clergy, 
  
• law enforcement personnel, 
  
• emergency medical services workers,
  
• crisis workers, 
  
• mental health practitioners, 
  
• grief counselors, 
  
• support group facilitators, 
  
• educators, 
  
• researchers, 
  
• physicians, and 
  
• military personnel.

Designed as a rallying cry "to make certain that people bereaved by suicide receive the help they need, when and where they need it, in ways that increase their capacity and opportunity to live full and fruitful lives," the Statement of Purpose outlines what it will take to establish strong suicide grief support services across the country: 

• Suicide bereavement "programs, policies, and services" must be included in "a comprehensive national response to suicide."
  
• Communities' postvention efforts must be strengthened through "collaboration among everyone with a stake in suicide bereavement services."
  
• Community-based suicide grief support that is "accessible, proactive, age-appropriate, culturally sensitive, effective, and sustainable" must be implemented nationally.
  
• Research must be pursued to develop "an evidence base for effective grief interventions and other tools" to help survivors of suicide loss.
  
• The public must be educated through information that accurately depicts the causes of suicide and its impact on individuals, communities, and society.
  

The document was authored by practitioners who have spoken out for years on behalf of improved services for survivors, several of whom now serve on the Survivors of Suicide Loss Task Force of the National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, which is a newly formed group with the following goal:

Develop consensus guidelines for the creation and implementation of effective, comprehensive support programs for survivors of suicide loss. The Guidelines will serve as a crystallizing benchmark for organizations, communities, states, and the nation for the development of a support infrastructure for survivors of suicide loss.