This is the story of Angela’s lived experience of being bereaved by suicide and becoming a single parent and widow at 32 in October 2003. Her children were a mere 3 & 13 years old and they were collectively forced up the steepest of learning curves that she genuinely wishes nobody has to experience. Sadly 800,000 in 2023 alone will have to experience the searing pain of this experience first-hand.
As they were dealing with the aftershock of her husband’s death, She heard 3 words used together for the first time: Prevention, Intervention, Postvention.
The reality is that in addition to having to deal with the shock of a suicide by someone close to them, those impacted by the suicide immediately enter a high-risk group with a significantly increased likelihood of ending their own lives. Rarely discussed widely, postvention, or how we care for those bereaved by suicide, IS prevention for the next generation.
Angela’s talk will discuss the concept of postvention and how it can be successfully applied to prevent history from cruelly repeating itself.
