Two Regional Hospice and Home Care social workers will discuss suicide risk factors and prevention, as well as various aspects of their work with survivors of suicide loss, on two editions of the Practical Talk Time Show, hosted by Usha Kumar, on Comcast Channel 23 in Danbury, Bethel and Ridgefield.
The first segment will be aired on Tuesday, September 23 at 9:30 p.m. and will be re-aired on Friday, September 26 at 11 a.m. The second segment will be aired on Tuesday, September 30 at 9:30 p.m. and will be re-aired on Friday, October 3 at 11 a.m.
Sheryl Renne, MSW, LCSW, Regional Hospice and Home Care social worker and facilitator of the Survivors of Suicide Loss support group held at the Healing Hearts Center for Grief and Loss, appeared on the show along with Cheryl Koeber, LCSW, ACHP-SW, OSW-C, Regional Hospice and Home Care’s Director of Counseling Services.
“Survivors of suicide loss share a unique, intense bereavement,” said Renne, who has facilitated the suicide survivor support group since its creation nearly five years ago. “People are left grappling with the why.”
According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP), more than 39,000 people in the United States die by suicide each year, leaving millions of survivors who are trying to cope with the heartbreaking loss. In 2011, someone in America died by suicide every 13.3 minutes, according to the AFSP.
The Healing Hearts Center for Grief and Loss, located at 73 Stadley Rough Road in Danbury, has received national recognition for its unique bereavement programs and services for the community, including numerous support groups, workshops and programs provided to the public throughout the year. It hosts an annual event sponsored by the AFSP on International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day (to be held on November 22, 2014.) Anyone interested in joining a Healing Hearts support group should contact the Center at (203)792-4422.