Mary Butler TD, Minister of State for Mental Health and Older People, has officially launched the new HSE National Suicide Bereavement Support Guide.
Developed by a working group consisting of individuals bereaved by suicide and HSE Resource Officers for Suicide Prevention, the guide will be the cornerstone of Level 1 bereavement support.
The guide is an output of work from the Improving suicide bereavement supports in Ireland report that set out 10 core action areas and encompassed 21 actions identified as essential for the improvement of suicide bereavement supports.
One of the 10 key recommended actions was the development of a "standardised suicide bereavement resource guide with accurate, relevant, up-to-date and consistent information for individuals and families that have lost a loved one to suicide or suspected suicide."
The guide has been designed to help you to choose what sections are most appropriate for you. It is not intended as something you need to read through from cover to cover and it focuses on five key areas.
- Taking care of the practical matters
- What you may be feeling
- Your connection with the person who has died
- Getting through and creating a new future
- Help and support
While producing the guide, working group members shared personal, honest and heartfelt accounts of their experience of losing their loved ones through suicide.
