Supporting Those Impacted by Suicide

When someone is impacted by suicide—whether they’ve lost a loved one, supported someone through a crisis, or experienced a suicide attempt themselves—the emotional toll can be overwhelming.

Grief, guilt, confusion, and even isolation are common and valid responses. It’s important to approach those affected with empathy, patience, and a willingness to listen without judgment.

Offering support can be as simple as sitting with them in their pain, checking in regularly, or helping them access professional resources. No one should have to navigate the aftermath of suicide alone—and by being present, informed, and compassionate, we can help create a path toward healing and hope.

Resources

After a Suicide Attempt – A Guide for Family and Friends: A guide to help families and friends support someone after a suicide attempt, focusing on emotional and practical steps for recovery.

Coping with Suicidal Thoughts: A guide to help individuals who are experiencing thought of suicide.

Hope and Healing: An Emotional and Practical Guide for People Impacted by Suicide to support people in addressing both the practical and emotional matters that emerg when someone has died by suicide.

Traumatic Loss Groups | Bereaved Families of Nova Scotia: The 8-week Traumatic Loss program is designed for individuals that are grieving the loss of a loved one through suicide, substance abuse or homicide.  This program is offered in collaboration with Roots of Hope Nova Scotia.

Grief Refuge: Grief Refuge is a daily companion to help navigate your grief journey. The app helps create safe and sacred space to explore grief related feelings, learn helpful ways to cope, and find peace and purpose after loss. Features include daily reflections, intention setting, and stories from people who have found healing in their grief.

Survivors of Suicide: SOS Nova Scotia is support group for those who have lost someone to suicide. They are not trained counsellors, but they offer support based on lived experience and share resources that promote healing.

This group is open to everyone who has lost someone to the act of suicide and if you are not ready to share in an open group, there are some of us who are willing to meet one on one.

Goodgrief: Goodgrief is the social network for loss. Goodgrief is for people ages 18 and up. Goodgrief works by putting you in touch with others who lost their spouse, parent, sibling, child, relative, or friend due to a variety of causes. Create a private profile by answering questions related to your loss. Then, connect to other people through a one-on-one in-app texting service. Your private information is never seen publicly and chats are private and secure. Additional filters narrow your connections by age, gender, religion, time frame, and type and cause of loss.

Lifeline Canada: The LifeLine Canada Foundation is a registered non-profit, committed to positive mental health and suicide prevention & awareness. The LifeLine Canada Foundation is not a crisis hotline. If in Crisis, call or text 988 for Canada’s new suicide prevention hotline. If you or someone you know is in danger of hurting themselves or others, call 911 immediately.