New Site Launches in September to Offer Guiding Light for Suicide Survivors
**Suicide: Finding Hope launches during Suicide Prevention week, Sept 4 – 10, raising awareness and providing information for those affected by suicide**
Santa Fe, NM, August 29, 2011 - According to the American Assocation of Suicidology (http://www.suicidology.org/) and the World Health Organization, someone attempts suicide in the US every 38 seconds and almost a million worldwide die from suicide every year leaving behind countless millions bereaved by suicide. Recognizing what is a growing concern, Cheryl Brown and Michelle Linn-Gust, Ph.D. felt that they needed to do something to help. They realized the Internet would provide an easy way for people to access this crucial information and connect with others who have dealt with similar tragedies. Enter, Suicide: Finding Hope at www.suicidefindinghope.com.
Suicide: Finding Hope Website
When Santa Fean Cheryl Brown lost her son to suicide last year, she wanted to create something in his memory that would benefit others. Reaching out to Michelle Linn-Gust, a fellow suicide loss survivor, international author and speaker, co-founder of the New Mexico Suicide Prevention Coalition, and President of the American Association of Suicidology, Brown asked Linn-Gust to collaborate on a site that offers a comprehensive view of suicide and mental illness. The site brings research and resources to the public, but primarily focuses on providing hope for the bereaved.
Cheryl Brown – Founder of Suicide: Finding Hope |
Michelle Linn-Gust, Ph.D - International author, speaker and collaborator on Suicide: Finding Hope |
They realized that the public needed easier access to this information previously reserved for the professional community, so they created their new site, Suicide: Finding Hope to provide people more information on the topic. All this is covered in the 200 pages on the website from the work of 100 contributors. The website’s official launch is set during National Suicide Prevention Week, September 4-10.
Michelle says, “When my younger sister died eighteen years ago, there was little Internet and few ways to connect to other people bereaved by suicide. I know that we (my family) weren’t the only people grieving a suicide and I’m thankful today to be part of such a large project that not only brings together people traveling this unique grief journey but also gives them reliable information and a place to find hope.”
Founder Cheryl Brown feels that the website provides “a dense forest of knowledge, compassion, and help for those traveling the path of suicide survival.” She knows the experience of mental illness all too well, with her husband years ago and her son in 2010, both dying by suicide. They suffered bipolar disorder which has a genetic link and research is revealing there is a link with suicide as well. This motivated her to create a postvention site to help those suffering after the fact.
The site covers a variety of topics from helping surviving spouses, parents and children to understanding how someone can maintain a connection with a deceased loved one. It even includes links to research articles written by top researchers in the field and related videos posted on TED and YouTube. Suicide: Finding Hope not only offers people a library of information and resources to cope with and even prevent suicide, but also provides a chance for users to connect with others by commenting on posted materials and creating a sense of community.
