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The American Psychiatric Association ranks the trauma of losing a loved one to suicide as “catastrophic” — on par with that of a concentration camp experience.
Grieving family members and friends are left to wade through a myriad of emotions — from shock to despair, abandonment, guilt and hopelessness — and the aching question of “why” this tragedy happened. It’s also a time during which survivors greatly increase their own risk of suicide.
To arm the bereaved with resources and come alongside them with a listening ear, a group of 22 area volunteers, many of whom have personally experienced the pain of a loved one’s suicide, are part of the Local Outreach to Survivors of Suicide that serves Logan and Champaign counties.
Formed in 2008, it was the first group of its kind in Ohio based upon a model developed by Dr. Franklin Campbell, a former executive director of the Baton Rouge Crisis Intervention Center and the Crisis Center Foundation in Louisiana. Known by the acronym LOSS, teams are available throughout the state, country and world, according to Dr. Campbell’s Web site, www.lossteam.com.
Local LOSS team members explained much of the details of the organization last week in recognition of September as Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month. In addition, the Suicide Prevention Coalition of Logan and Champaign Counties is offering several activities throughout the month.
The trained team responds at any hour of the day after being notified by law enforcement or coroner of a suicide death. Members typically travel to the scene of a death or area hospitals to meet with survivors.
“While we’re a stranger to the survivors coming into this, during our talk, we share hugs and tears with them. We leave feeling like we’ve been able to help them in this crisis situation,” said Mary Giannola, one of the founding local LOSS team members.
“We’re a team of compassionate people, and we can tell them, ‘These are some of the things you are going to experience; we’ve been there before,” said member Kris Swisher, whose brother, musician Joel Johanson of Branson, Missouri, took his own life in 2008.
Beginning of LOSS
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