Friends of Suicide Loss (FOSL Ireland) are hosting International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day (ISOSLD) across Ireland onSaturday November 21st, 2020 with the annual ‘’Mourning has Broken’’ walk and a special online event for friends and families bereaved by suicide with Irish Rugby Legend, Mike Ross, starting at 1:30 p.m. People can do the walk in their own locality and purchase FOSL T-shirts and caps by Telephoning: (01)4927576 or email info@fosl.ie.
Later that evening at 7 p.m. FOSL is hosting a Virtual Symposium via Zoom which is free to anyone bereaved by suicide to register for. The keynote speaker at the Symposium will be the renowned Clinical Psychologist Dr. John R. Jordan PhD, from Rhode Island, America, author, lecturer, and workshop facilitator, specializing in grief, bereavement, survivors of suicide, and a leading figure in the work of postvention.
“Living in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic has created a trigger for suicide due to lockdowns, unemployment, isolation and restrictions to mental health services. From reports in the media and the number of calls to our helpline, there appears to be an increase in suicide rates to date in 2020,” said FOSL CEO, Terry Connolly. ISOSLD a.k.a. Survivor Day, is the one day a year when people affected by suicide loss, gather around the world at events in their local communities to gain understanding, comfort, support, connection and healing through shared stories of loss and hope, and to find some peace from the suffering caused by suicide loss.
Former Ireland Rugby Player, Mike Ross shared his heart breaking story of losing his brother to suicide: “One aspect of FOSL that attracted me was its ideas on promoting what is known as Postvention, which helps families, friends and communities after a suicide,” he said. FOSL provides Postvention support services for those affected by suicide such as responding to a suicide death, outreach support, one to one counselling, support groups, members coffee mornings, walk & talk, workshops, conferences, lectures, research/publications, resources and information for the suicide bereaved, a library, training and education.
‘’The suicide of a loved one can have a profound and sometimes devastating impact on the family and friends left behind, called suicide loss survivors. Bereavement after suicide may entail high levels of disorientation, guilt, regret, anger, and trauma. Survivors also may struggle with the social stigma placed on suicide. Survivors can be at risk for elevated rates of complicated grief and suicidality themselves. All of this makes surviving the suicide of a loved one a potentially life-changing ordeal that requires all of the resilience that a survivor can muster, and all the support that family and community can provide.’’ Says Dr. John R Jordan. “FOSL Ireland is glad to be a part of this life-saving work. I’d like to thank everyone for helping to organize this event on 21st November. Thanks to their efforts, the way our society and communities treat families who have lost loved ones to suicide is changing for the better. More loss survivors are able to open up about their experiences, which is critical to the healing process and enables the suicide bereaved to live life again,” said FOSL CEO, Terry Connolly.
To register for the Symposium please follow this link: https://isosld.afsp.org/dublin-ireland/
If you have lost someone through suicide and need support, please visit www.fosl.ie or contact (01) 492 7576, email info@fosl.ie and find us on:
Facebook: @FOSLIreland, Twitter: @foslireland and Instagram: @fosl.ireland.
