ALLIANCE OF HOPE FOR SUICIDE SURVIVORS
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June 27, 2011
My boyfriend committed suicide three months ago. He shot himself and I along with his brother found him and along with the unbearable grief, the PTSD that I am suffering from makes like completely unbearable. There are words to describe what it feels like to be a suicide survivor and your whole world is shattered and you are consumed with disillusionment, guilt, shame, remorse and this enormous black hole in your life. I have friends and family and they try but they just can't understand and this organization has helped me so much to offer support and to support and be supported by people that understand and are aren't afraid to talk to survivors.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
Knowing that tragically there are others that understand what I feel has been so supportive. Together we can be the voices for our lost loved ones and can hopefully bring awareness and make a difference to save lives as well as support each other.
Ways to make it better...
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
The organization is perfect the way it is, I just would like to see more awareness and promotion so survivors know that there is a place they can go for support and not feel so alone and broken.
May 16, 2012
I lost my husband 3/4/10. I thought when he left us i was sure to go right behind him. We were together 27 years. He was all i knew. when he died i spend a great part of the 3 months following in the bed. When i returned to work i started seeing a therapist, But i have since discontinued her services after finding The Alliance of Hope suicide survivors site. It has brought me more comfort talking to people that are going through the same feeling and emotions following such a horrific thing. I think they are my saving grace... Thank You Alliance of Hope. I have a feeling i'm not the only one you have saved... Tracy
More feedback...
Will you volunteer or donate to this organization?
Definitely
How much of an impact do you think this organization has?
Life-changing
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
June 27, 2011
My husband committed suicide on 3/4/10. We have had a really bad year, but thing s are getting better...I go to alliance of hope for outside support. My family has been at our side since his death. But they really don't like to talk about it, my girls have just gotten in the last month or so where they will talk some what about it. I listen when they want to talk... But i can reach out on the website knowing all to well they are going through the same things we are.. Thank you Alliance Of Hope...Another survivor
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
A very positive way...
Ways to make it better...
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
it is already perfect!
June 25, 2011
I live in a small rural community, and when my beloved died by suicide in 2008 I was left alone, traumatized, needing to grieve, and without any support, or understanding of suicide. Suicide is a manner of death that leaves survivors with a grief that no one else can fathom unless they too have been deeply affected by someones suicide.
It is difficult to adequately say how much the Alliance of Hope has helped me. I knew I needed help and within minutes of finding their web page I knew that there was some hope that the crushing burden I dealt with every moment may be survivable. There was information that explained, reassured, comforted, supported. All without blame or judgment. There was the opportunity to connect with others, and to not be so totally alone. It takes a community to raise a child, and it also takes a community to help one face adversity successfully. I had found the community that was going to help me cope, and then begin to heal. Soon, I will have traveled this painful journey three years and The Alliance of Hope is still vital to my well being.
I just realized how well named it is. It truly is an Alliance of Hope for people faced with their lives shattered and the future appearing totally
hopeless.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
I have always been impressed with the professionalism of this organization. The information on the web pages comes from wide and varied sources of professional and personal knowledge aimed at dispelling the myths and stigma that surround suicide. The community forum is well organized, easily accessible and professionally monitored with empathy and wisdom.
Ways to make it better...
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
The only change I would hope for The Alliance of Hope is secure, dependable and adequate funding for the work the organizers and volunteers would like to do! The deserve it.
More feedback...
How would you describe the help you got from this organization?
Life-changing
How likely are you to recommend this organization to a friend?
Definitely
How do you feel you were treated by this organization?
Very Well
How did you find this group?
I found The Alliance of Hope through and online search for information and understanding of suicide and grief.
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2011
June 25, 2011
Recovering from suicide loss is an extremely difficult task. This website, poignantly titled Alliance for Hope, has helped me tremendously. It has been wonderful to learn from the experiences of others and share my own experiences too.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
Recovering from suicide loss
Ways to make it better...
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
No changes need to be made!
1 person found this review helpful
June 24, 2011
1 person found this review helpful
I found the website and forum about a month after my brother committed suicide. The resources there were extremely helpful, and the forum has been invaluable. Words can't express the relief I felt in hearing that all the horribly abnormal thoughts and feelings I was experiencing are "normal" in this situation. The support, encouragement, and understanding I found there have truly been a lifeline.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
The level of understanding that has greatly contributed to my healing process.
Ways to make it better...
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
Tell everyone I know about it.
More feedback...
How would you describe the help you got from this organization?
Life-changing
How likely are you to recommend this organization to a friend?
Definitely
How do you feel you were treated by this organization?
Very Well
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2011
1 person found this review helpful
June 24, 2011
1 person found this review helpful
I came across The Alliance of Hope for Suicide Survivors forum when I noticed someone posted an article there I had written. I checked it out, joined, and have gone there almost daily in the last 7 months. It has become a big part of my life.
I lost my son in 2007 to depression. It was a long, hard haul, but I made it and can even enjoy life again. I will always, always miss him, though. I post to try to help others through the worst time of their lives.
There is a real sense of friendship - love even - in the community. We get to know and support each other. We can talk about things we don't with even closest friends and family. No one is telling us to 'get over it' or 'be brave' or 'get on with your life'. We are comfortable there. It is a much needed oasis.
The Alliance of Hope has moderators who are kind and compassionate, yet level-headed. All make you feel welcome, which is so important. Their comments are always helpful, never patronizing.
There are other good forums with good information, but this one is the best. The name says it all.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
reaching out to others and learning from them.
Ways to make it better...
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
not at this point because I can't think of anything I would change.
July 11, 2012
The Alliance of Hope for Survivors of Suicide has become much more than a life-line to me. The website provides powerful education as well as links to take me to valuable resources. Direction for counseling, reading, etc. The forum has provided me with more support than I dared to imagine possible. However, it does much more than provide support. I have found that reading and posting on the forum has allowed me expression of both my pain and my joy, for this journey of grief is complicated and multifaceted. I deeply appreciate that when Ronnie created this site she had a vision of helping survivors not only 'get through' their pain, but to allow them to see that a happy, even joyous life is possible again. This hope is offered by Ronnie and others who have also experienced losing a loved one to suicide and so I knew they had credibility. Their love and honesty has been a steady support for me as I have traveled these months since losing my son at only 23 years old. Thanks to the incredible support of these people I am honored to now call friends, when I think of my son now, there is much less pain. Much more joy. For me that is appropriate because to know my son, was to know joy. I am grateful that this site exists and hope that it will continue to be available as long as there is someone out there who has lost a loved one to suicide.
More feedback...
Would you volunteer for this group again?
Definitely
For the time you spent, how much of an impact did you feel your work or activity had?
Life-changing
Did the organization use your time wisely?
Very Well
Would you recommend this group to a friend?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
June 23, 2011
3 people found this review helpful
I found this site and forum a month or so after my youngest son took his own life at the age of 23, December 2010.
I searched the internet to find support, but was sadly disappointed in what I found until I came upon Alliance of Hope for Suicide Survivors. I found great compassion and support in the information provided by the site. This site was very different from others in that it offered information from other survivors. There were articles written by professionals and lay people alike. Points of view from all walks of life were offered.
This site assured me that my journey through this experience would be unique and that there is nothing wrong with having a unique experience. To read that there are often steps through grief that may be expected, but that these were not written in stone provided me with assurance that I was not doing anything wrong in feeling 'different' than what I had been finding in books and on other sights.
The people on this site and forum have provided true compassion, support and understanding. This has been a healing place for me to visit, sometimes many times a day.
I am deeply grateful for having found this site and I have not hesitated to recommend it to others.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
The words of understanding, encouragement and compassion that I have read and breathed in have changed my life.
Ways to make it better...
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
I would perhaps keep the forum private.
More feedback...
How would you describe the help you got from this organization?
Life-changing
How likely are you to recommend this organization to a friend?
Definitely
How do you feel you were treated by this organization?
Very Well
How did you find this group?
Searching the internet.
What, if any, change in your life has this group encouraged?
Deeper compassion with those who need and deserve it as well as strengthening my ability to protect healthy boundaries.
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2011
1 person found this review helpful
June 23, 2011
1 person found this review helpful
My son Will was only 21 years old when he shot himself in the mouth. It was 4 years ago this past Monday, June 20, 2007, and he lingered 4 days, until June 24, when he finally had a stroke and left this life. We donated his organs on June 25, his dad's birthday.
After attending a grief group (nonspecific to suicide) for about a year, I knew I had to come to grips with the fact that Will killed himself. No matter how ill he was, he still did the unthinkable and the opposite of what most of us healthy people try to do - sustain our life. The guilt has been enormous, the self-recriminations, the "what-ifs" and the "should haves" unending. The worst times seemed to be late at night, when there is no support group meeting, no friend who is awake, and those night-time terrors are looming large.
This is where and when Ronnie Walker and the Alliance of Hope entered the picture. The differences between this and other sites were apparent immediately. The site is very well-run and closely monitored. Members are always treated with the utmost respect, tenderness, and yes, even loving kindness. As a certified grief counselor, Ronnie has provided many helpful references and links for further study. And as a fellow suicide survivor with the loss of her son, she brings a level of understanding to the site that others just do not have. The numerous resources she has provided on the site helped me to discover that I was not alone with my awful grief, that I wasn't going crazy, and that I wasn't an evil person because my son chose to end his life. I am a strong woman who has been broken by my son's death, and helped along the road to healing by Ronnie and all the members of this site.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
...learning how to live my life after the suicide of my son, and learning that I CAN live my life despite my son's actions.
Ways to make it better...
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
...not change a thing. Ronnie is offering something that is desperately needed by those who are trying to deal with a suicide. You can't understand how alone you feel until people with whom you are supposedly friends now avoid you and won't even meet your gaze. It's almost as if they are afraid suicide is contagious. This site offers a safe haven where I can express my pain and anguish in ways that I cannot elsewhere. This place has been a God-send, and I will be forever grateful.
June 23, 2011
Losing a loved one through suicide is something no one will ever understand........unless you too have felt its grip. It allows a safe haven-a place where you are understood and accepted. I wish I never had a reason to search and find this site,but I am glad I found it.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
group support
Ways to make it better...
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
none
More feedback...
How would you describe the help you got from this organization?
Life-changing
How likely are you to recommend this organization to a friend?
Definitely
How do you feel you were treated by this organization?
Very Well
How did you find this group?
web search
What, if any, change in your life has this group encouraged?
a life line. online group therapy
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2011
June 23, 2011
I lost my beloved son October 8, 2009. Since this time Alliance of Hope has helped me on my journey to finding peace in my broken heart. It has helped me to know I am not alone in my heartache. I have found so many others that I can learn from and relate to. I also found that in trying to help new members, it makes me feel good and helps me.
I can't say enough. I just thank God that I found this forum. It has been one of my biggest blessings.
The Great!
I've personally experienced the results of this organization in...
I don't know if I would have made it through the pain if it had not been for this wonderful organization.
Ways to make it better...
If I had to make changes to this organization, I would...
I would not change a thing. It is great the way it is.
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