Supporting Teens After Suicide Loss:
Film Screening and Discussion
Saturday, November 23, 2024
1:00pm – 5:00pm ET
Modern Theatre
525 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111
International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day offers a space for those who have lost loved ones to suicide to find comfort and understanding through sharing their stories. This year, join Samaritans, Rethink The Conversation, and Coping After Suicide, for a screening of the award-winning film, Talking OutLOUD: Teens & Suicide Loss, A Conversation.
Hear from Executive Producer Joanne Harpel and Coping After Suicide’s national Teens Group facilitator Steven Karaiskos, who will discuss the film’s impact and how to support young people coping with suicide loss. A panel of suicide loss survivors will also share their personal stories and explore the importance of breaking the stigma surrounding suicide loss. A post-event reception will be held for reflection and to connect with our community of loss survivors. This event offers a meaningful opportunity for loss survivors and those who support them to come together with a supportive community who understands the painful experience of losing a loved one to suicide.
This event is suitable for ages 12 and up.
About Talking OutLOUD: Teens & Suicide Loss, A Conversation
Nearly a million teenagers lose someone to suicide every year. Until now, there’s been nothing for them in the voices of their peers. And while significant attention has been paid to the critical issue of teen suicide, the experience of teens left behind after a suicide is rarely discussed. Talking OutLOUD: Teens & Suicide Loss, A Conversation has changed that.
This award-winning landmark film features five members of Coping After Suicide’s Teens Group who share, with parents and family members watching, their deeply personal yet universal experiences:
- – Whether talking about it helps
- – What their parents have gotten right (and wrong)
- – How the suicide affected their family
- – What they would tell a friend who just lost someone
When their family members join the conversation, they open up about how lost they’ve felt as they try to support their teen. We discover they heard things they’d never heard before and how reassured they feel by their teens’ wisdom and resilience.
Joanne Harpel is the President of Coping After Suicide and a leading international authority on suicide bereavement and postvention . Her work has been recognized with the two highest awards in the field, from the American Association of Suicidology and the International Association for Suicide Prevention. She’s been invited to speak at the United Nations, on Capitol Hill, and for the American Psychiatric Association. She’s been brought in as a trainer by the US Army, the VA, and the South Korean National Police Agency. She’s also trained thousands of mental health professionals, doctors, funeral directors, clergy, and school personnel across the country. Before opening her private practice, she spent over a decade as a Senior Director with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the largest suicide prevention organization in the world. Joanne began her career as a corporate lawyer with a leading New York City law firm. She is an honors graduate of Amherst College and has graduate degrees from Cambridge University and the NYU School of Law. She lives and works in New York City.
Steven Karaiskos is a veteran educator with over 23 years of experience, an emotion scientist, and an activist for suicide prevention & awareness and grief. Steven is the Founder of Elpis Consulting, Coaching, & Community Building established to help schools, communities, and organizations cultivate restorative environments rooted in fostering hope toward organizational health, community well-being, and individual thriving. Additionally, he facilitates peer grief support groups for those who have had a loss to suicide and is the program director as well on the Board for The Kita Center – a restorative community honoring the lived experience of those impacted by suicide that includes the signature program Camp Kita – a nonprofit summer camp providing support for young people, ages 8-17, who have lost a loved one to suicide. Steven is a consultant with Sea Change Mentoring supporting international schools to ensure that both students and staff have the skills to build relationships and provide safe, inclusive, and equitable learning environments for relationships to thrive. A loss to suicide survivor himself, Steven earned his Ph.D. in Psychology, lives in Providence, RI, enjoys writing and Tai Chi, and was most recently the Senior Director of Community Education & Outreach with Samaritans, Inc.
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 in person and virtual programs to support survivors in their grieving. Get support at samaritanshope.org/gss.
This event is made possible with support from:
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