Wendy lost her husband to suicide in May 2011. Overcome with grief, she tried to attend support groups but couldn’t bring herself to speak publicly about her loss. “It was so deeply painful that I really couldn’t engage. I couldn’t get the words out.”
In 2020, Wendy began volunteering with Samaritans on the 24/7 Helpline, an experience that prepared her for engaging people in difficult, personal conversations. “To be able to get people to open up about themselves is a great skill.”
Now, nearly 14 years after her loss, she is involved with Samaritans’ suicide grief support program as a SafePlace group facilitator, a role she felt prepared for thanks in part to the befriending skills she learned as a Helpline volunteer. “Attending my first SafePlace meeting was a profoundly meaningful experience. Even now, I reflect on it as a moment that reassures there is hope and a fulfilling life beyond the challenges I was facing.”
Wendy can relate to loss survivors who aren’t ready to attend a SafePlace meeting; she is ready to support people who feel the way she once did. “If you don’t want to share, that’s okay. Just being there is so brave. It can be great just to listen. To be among people who get it and understand you is a comfort. Samaritans can help you move forward with your life.”
There are more people out there who are impacted by suicide than you realize. As long as we have Samaritans, we are never alone, and there is always hope.
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Losing a loved one to suicide is a painful and difficult experience. Samaritans is here to offer suicide loss survivors nonjudgmental listening and peer support. We provide many programs to support survivors in their grieving.
