Dear friends,

I encourage those who have been bereaved by suicide, together with service providers, to attend/participate at the 'Building Hope Together: The Journey After Suicide' Conference hosted at the Sydney Masonic Hall on Thursday 13, Friday 14 and Saturday 15 June 2019.

I commend the conference which provided me Hope, Support, Comfort and Healing in my own journey of grief following the loss of my very loved husband in 2008.

The Healing and Remembrance Service, which is held on the last day of the conference, assists the bereaved in their grief journey, providing comfort, hope and support for those who have lost loved ones to suicide.

The suicide of someone you care about is a devastating tragedy. It happens in the best of families and to the best of people, it does not discriminate, shattering the lives of shocked survivors. As you mourn you probably feel a sense of betrayal, you have invested years of caring and loving into the deceased and suddenly you are abandoned and rejected. Because you are bewildered by what has happened you search for answers, you are often filled with a sense of guilt for suicide and it seems like not only a loss but also an accusation. You may feel that somehow you "were not good enough".

The suicide of a loved one is a terrible blow to one's self image, and unfortunately, the perceived shame keeps many survivors from acknowledging the suicide and talking about it. This is where the Australian Postvention plays its vital role for us, the survivors of suicide! They know that recovery from suicide of a loved one is a monumental task but they have the people and resources to walk us through each hurdle that confronts us. They have both expertise and boundless empathy, and combining these will begin your healing process, moving forward from darkness to hope, from death to a renewed commitment to life!

This Conference helped give my life back to me after my husband, a highly respected police officer and a very loved and devoted father took his own life at Christmas 2008. 

Yours truly, Yvonne Collins