A Place to Belong
Cynthia and Jim lost their son to suicide in 2020. He was 17 years old. He had just been discharged from a 3-week psychiatric stay when he was discharged. He was not yet stable however he was not responding well to inpatient care. He was discharged to home. His parents were not given information about diagnosis, medication, or post-discharge options for ongoing care. Two days after discharge he died.
The whole family (John was the middle child, a senior in high school) received coaching services from Grow a Strong Family. They needed to make sense of their intense pain and grief. After 8 months, they were strong enough to move forward.
About a year later, Cynthia and a friend, Tammy, approached Grow a Strong Family to facilitate a support group for parents like them, parents who had lost a child to suicide/brain disorder. The group began with five parents. They called it, Live! so that they could remember to live, to move forward, to grow around their grief. The group now has 10 parents and is sadly growing.