Our year: Families Voices Forum

Every year the Families Voice forum works to expand the reach and influence of people who have been bereaved by suicide in policy and practice, and this year was no different.

In 2023-24, the Forum launched their regional campaign ‘If Only I could Tell You’: Letters of hope and compassion, in the Guildhall, Derry. The purpose of this event was to provide hope to people recently bereaved by suicide that survival and healing is possible after the loss of a loved one.

We also responded to the Public Health Agency consultation on postvention (i.e. support for those bereaved by suicide) as part of the Protect Life 2 Strategy, and focused on identifying opportunities to engage wider with people who had experienced the tragedy of suicide in their families.

One key area of work in 2023-24 has been highlighting the risks of social media and the internet in relation to suicide. Throughout the period, DHC and the Forum have been actively promoting the ComKit, an online resource for communities, media and others following a suicide. This resource provides vital information to community gatekeepers in response to suicide.