Advice for becoming a suicide bereavement support group facilitator?

Hey y’all,

it’s been almost 13 years since my dad took his own life. I was 17 when it happened & was his shadow/ best friend. It basically tore my life apart. I was really not-ok for a long long time after. It’s still hard, but I’m 30 now and in a much better place in recent years than I was then, and a big part of that was attending support groups in my area for suicide survivors.

The org that hosted those meetings I used to attend no longer exists, & the closest groups to my town are all over an hour away now. I also own a business here that would be a great place to host a group like this to meet, so I am seriously considering/making moves toward facilitating a monthly suicide bereavement support group myself here at my business.

I have no experience with this kind of thing though, and am pretty nervous about it. I signed up for the afsp group facilitator training in august, but wondering if there’s anything else I can or should do to prepare for hosting a suicide bereavement support group? Have you been a facilitator? Have you been to any support groups? What was something the facilitator did that you liked? What didn’t you like?

I read the posts on this page all the time and try to engage when I can. I’m sorry that our sad little group exists In the first place, each and every one of your stories breaks my heart, but ultimately it’s good to know that none of us are the only one going through this stuff, & that there are others out there surviving through it, even if it’s just one day at a time.

Thanks so much y’all 💚