Androscoggin Valley Hospital hosts Survivor of Suicide Life Keeper Quilt

Last year New Hampshire lost 160 people to suicide. Each of these people left behind many family members, loved ones, and colleagues (suicide survivors) who were touched by their life and continue to be greatly affected by their death. Over the past several years, the Berlin/Gorham area has made suicide prevention and survivor support a priority by partnering with the Frameworks Youth Suicide Prevention Project to train more than 400 community members in suicide prevention and by providing support for those who have lost a loved one to suicide.Survivors from the Berlin/Gorham area are actively reaching out in many ways to let other survivors know they are not alone and to educate the public about the struggles that survivors face. Over the past six months, survivors from the New Hampshire Survivors Speakers Bureau have shared their own stories of loss in the hope that by doing so they will encourage others to reach out for help. The second Thursday of each month from 6:30-8 p.m., The North Country Survivors of Suicide Group meets at the Family Resource Center in Gorham to offer support to one another. All are welcome. On the Saturday before Thanksgiving, survivors from Berlin and Gorham joined other North Country Survivors for the Tenth Annual AFSP National Survivors of Suicide Day Teleconference.For the month of December, the New Hampshire Life Keeper Survivors of Suicide Quilt is on display at Androscoggin Valley Hospital. In July of 2007, survivors from around New Hampshire created a Life Keeper Quilt with squares for those lost to suicide. Each square was lovingly made by a family member or friend of someone who died by suicide. The Lifekeeper Memory Quilt project began in 1997 and was the brainchild of Sandy Martin, a survivor, who felt that creating a quilt with visual images, or pictures, of those who have been lost to suicide in each state would help raise awareness of suicide as a public health issue. Quilts from all around the United States are displayed every September in Washington, D.C. at the national suicide awareness event sponsored by the Suicide Prevention Action Network (SPAN) and on a local level throughout the year. Since its completion, the N.H. Lifekeeper Quilt has been displayed at over 60 places in New Hampshire, Washington, D.C., Maine, and Massachusetts.The quilt will be on display near the gift shop at Androscoggin Valley Hospital. Resources for survivors and suicide prevention will also be available.If you are interested in attending the North Country Survivors of Suicide Loss Group, hosting the quilt or a survivor speaker, or for more information, contact Becky McEnany at bmcenany@naminh.org. Frameworks offers many additional suicide awareness and prevention programs and survivor support programs that are available through the New Hampshire Chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI NH). Visit www.naminh.org for more information.