The members of Reaching Out About Depression and Suicide (ROADS) are planning classes for people coping with suicide.
The Understanding Your Suicide Grief series is limited to the first 10 people who sign up, with classes beginning the week of April 10. Participation is free and confidential.
The classes are designed for family and friends who have lost someone to suicide or those who have attempted suicide.
“The goal is for those people is to go on and connect with others,” said Ellen Swedberg, president and board member of ROADS.
Previous grief classes held at the Swedberg Family Center, Understanding Your Grief, covered a wide variety of feelings that proved helpful to families, Swedberg said, but the grief process for suicide is unique.
“We thought we would do one only related to suicide,” she said.
The Understanding Your Suicide Grief classes will be facilitated by Swedberg and Ginger Swedberg Huntington. Both women have been trained by Dr. Alan Wolfelt at the Center for Loss and Life Transition in Fort Collins, Colo.
“We want people to be able to share about their loss,” Huntington said. “Telling and re-telling of the story is where the healing comes in.”
A grant from the Shawano Area Community Foundation was used to buy books and journals.
Suicide is “a huge issue,” Swedberg said, adding that most suicides stem from a diagnosable and treatable mental illness or substance abuse disorder.
Teenagers, young adults and elderly males are the most susceptible. Swedberg said people who try suicide are not trying to end their lives, they want to end their pain.
The classes are not only to cope with grief, but also to help people by getting them information and support from family and friends, she said.
The time and dates of the class will be determined by those who sign up. The five-week class will be held at the Swedberg Family Center, 114 N. Bartlett St., Shawano.
For more information, call Huntington at 715-526-2631.
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