Heartache2hope

Heartache2Hope’s mission is to be a leader promoting healing after suicide loss while ensuring quality innovative programs and facilitating greater awareness and education in the community. We fill a gap in bereavement services with a comprehensive, evidence-based and trauma informed suicide loss support program. The impact of a suicide death on families, friends and communities is devastating and long-lasting, including serious social adverse consequences, employment challenges, physical problems, increased risk for psychiatric disorders and suicidality themselves. Our purpose is to provide a comprehensive postvention component that reduces risk of adverse effects and promotes healing in the suicide bereaved. We believe postvention is prevention. Our program provides both professional counselling/guidance and peer support to suicide loss grievers with the goals of building on their natural resilience and helping them re-engage in life. We strive to raise awareness of the impact of suicide loss, the community supports and resources available, and to reduce the stigma surrounding a suicide death in the general community. Heartache2Hope is the only Ontario organization providing a continuum of supportive services to help suicide loss grievers with the effects of trauma and the complicated grieving process. Our services include: • Individual Grief Counselling and/or Peer Support sessions. • Specialized Trauma Therapy for Individuals who found the person who died. • Psychoeducational 12-week Closed Support Groups, led by a professional and Peer Supporter, focused on emotional support, healing, resilience and teaching coping strategies. • Semi-monthly drop-in support group and bi-monthly Men’s Group sessions for continued support, connection and learning. • Wellness Activities to further mitigate the effects of trauma • Online Grief Sharing Forum • Annual International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day Event