Supporting loved ones through grief

Pain so often the driving force behind suicide is often what’s left behind for loved ones as they attempt to process the unimaginable.

Ocean Grove’s Sam Keating was only 25 years old when he took his own life in 2014, releasing a wave of devastation that left family and friends in its wake and motivated his father Danny Keating to advocate alongside others for better support services. Thanks to his efforts in conjunction with other bereaved individuals within the community, Support After Suicide (SAS) Geelong Region was launched in January last year.SAS Geelong Region is a program of Hope Bereavement, in partnership with Support After Suicide Richmond (a program of Jesuit Social services) and proudly supported by Freemasons Victoria

.SAS community development co-ordinator Melinda Hopper said it addressed a massive gap that previously existed for families impacted by the devastating aftermath of suicide.“We offer an after-suicide loss support group that meets monthly and a more structured group that runs across a four-week period. That group is for people that are in the early stages of bereavement,” Ms Hopper said.“We also offer one on one services in the form of counselling with Annie Norrish and have recently started a peer based support group that runs during the day.“When the service was being formed some of the initial discussion with people who have lived the experience was the importance of connecting with others who have also experienced a similar loss, and that’s what the peer support group is about.”Ms Hopper said their building space was provided in kind by Barwon Health whilst counsellor Ms Norrish’s services were funded by the Support After Suicide Service in Richmond.“

Prior to SAS there were groups that were being run locally but in terms of counselling that wasn’t available. People were having to travel to Melbourne to find suicide specific support,” she said.“For a regional area outside a capital city to have this service, we’re very lucky. The number of people who use our service vary and there is always a differing timeline of bereavement.“For some it’s all very fresh and they’re in a state of shock. Often they find themselves in a situation so terrible they can’t see the light at the end and others are a few years down the track in their journey and they talk to them and let them know things will improve. “People who come to the group report to us that it’s a place where they feel no judgement. I think we’ve come a long way when it comes to creating awareness around mental health but people still say they feel that stigma.“They’ll say people will avoid them because they’re not sure what to say or cross the street, but when they come to our groups; they know they can talk about their loved ones and their experience and there will be no judgement,” Ms Hopper said.“People aren’t going to be afraid to speak about it.”

For more information go to bereavement.org.au/grief-support/support-after-suicide or phone 03 4215 3358