When You Are Ready
The time required for healing cannot be neatly measured against any calendar. Piece by piece, you begin to re-enter the world. And as you do, you might be interested in learning how you can get involved. AFSP was founded in 1987 by concerned scientists, business and community leaders, and survivors in an effort to support the research and education needed to prevent suicide. We remain the leading national not-for-profit exclusively dedicated to funding research, developing prevention initiatives, and offering educational programs and conferences for survivors of suicide loss, mental health professionals, physicians and the public.
When you are ready, you may want to:
Join or Start a Chapter: Volunteer with the Foundation's network of chapters in communities across the country, which sponsor local conferences, events, and educational programs.
Walk: Every year, thousands of individuals participate in the Out of the Darkness Overnight and Community Walks in order to raise much-needed funds to support AFSP’s mission, spread awareness, and meet others who understand.
Organize a National Survivors of Suicide Day Conference Site: Survivors gather at local conference sites in cities and towns throughout the U.S. and the world for this day of healing, support, and information on the Saturday before Thanksgiving. It’s easy to bring this program to your community.
Facilitate a Support Group: Survivors who are further along in their healing may decide to help others by facilitating a survivor support group or starting a new one. AFSP’s facilitator training program teaches survivors the "how-to's" of creating and facilitating a support group. Click here for information on the 2-day, hands-on training program and the self-study option. (Note: We highly recommend that survivors wait at least 2 years before facilitating a group.)
Establish a Memorial Fund: Some survivors go on to establish memorial funds at the Foundation, to help underwrite a variety of important and meaningful programs. One such fund supports a groundbreaking public-private collaboration between AFSP and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to develop a research agenda specifically addressing survivors. Another supported the production of a film that encourages college students to recognize depression as a serious illness and seek treatment.
If you have any questions, please contact us.
Email: survivingsuicideloss@afsp.org
Phone: 1-888-333-AFSP, ext 33
Write:
American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Survivor Initiatives
120 Wall Street, 22nd Floor,
New York, NY 10005
We are each in charge of our own journey of healing. May you always be traveling further.
