Toolkit
For Families and Loved Ones Navigating a Suicide Loss
Explore the Toolkit
Download the full toolkit (PDF)
Ongoing and Long-Term Support
Over time, you may find your needs change. What felt impossible in the early days might gradually give way to new questions about how to live with this loss and how to stay connected to your loved one's memory. This section highlights counselling, groups, and community supports that can walk alongside you in the longer term.
In this section
Suicide Bereavement Support Groups
After a suicide loss, many people find strength and healing through connection with others who truly understand. Bereavement support groups are designed to address the unique challenges that suicide loss brings—intense feelings of guilt, shame, rejection, and the search for "why." Because suicide is still often surrounded by silence and stigma, having a safe space to talk openly can make a profound difference in healing.
Support groups, offered in person or online, offer a compassionate, non-judgmental environment where grief can be shared honestly. In these spaces, participants realize they are not alone, that others have lived through similar heartbreak, and that together they can begin to rebuild hope. Group participants listen, speak, and bear witness to each other's stories in ways that reduce isolation and foster deep human connection.
These groups do more than offer emotional comfort—they help survivors regain a sense of stability and confidence in daily life. Guided by trained facilitators, sessions often include:
Open conversations about loss, guilt, and stigma
Education about the grief process and coping after suicide
Tools for managing painful emotions and finding moments of relief
Practical guidance toward professional support, if desired
Finding ongoing support – You don’t have to rush
Over time, your needs may change. It is okay if you are not ready for a group or counselling right away.​
Right now, you might:
Circle or note one option in this section that feels least overwhelming (a group, a counsellor, or an online community).​
Add one small step to your calendar, such as “Look up this group” or “Ask my doctor about counselling.”
Remind yourself: exploring support is something you can do at your own pace.​
Participation can also nurture empowerment. Participants share, learn, and listen; they often rediscover a measure of control, meaning, and purpose that grief initially obscured. Over time, many describe finding new forms of resilience and the courage to re-engage with life in memory of their loved one.
(WHO, 2000)
Helpful information to consider about grief support:
Virtual vs. In-Person Grief Support: Which Aftercare Option Is Right for You?
Grief Support Center
Support Groups in Saskatchewan
Suicide Grief Support Saskatoon
Offers peer-led, drop-in and closed group support for adults bereaved by suicide.
Caring Hearts: Healing after Suicide Loss Support
Offers a traditional Indigenous approach to healing (Healing and Sharing Circle).
Meadow Lake Positively Parenting: Coping with Suicide Support Group
Holds a free, monthly open support group for families.
Caring Hearts Saskatchewan
Offers grief and loss support services, including specialized groups for those bereaved by suicide. In-person and virtual (Zoom) sessions available.
Suicide Grief Support Saskatoon - "Left Behind by Suicide"
Facilitates a monthly, open, drop-in support group and intensive, closed 12-week therapeutic groups.
Caring Hearts Grief Camp for Children and Youth
Nurtures healing through grief support day camps for children and teens (not an overnight). Located in Beaver Creek Ranch, Lumsden.
Across Canada and Beyond
Canadian Alliance for Children’s Grief
Offers a national directory of child grief and bereavement support programs by province and city.
Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention (CASP)
Operates a comprehensive directory of suicide bereavement support groups and resources across Canada.
Alliance of Hope for Suicide Loss Survivors
Offers a clinically moderated, 24/7 online support community and directories for in-person groups.
