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Postvention Matters
Postvention refers to activities that help individuals and communities cope with the emotional distress resulting from a suicide, and prevent additional trauma that could increase risk for suicidal behavior and death in the broader community. Postvention is an endeavor that must be embarked upon by state, local, and community governments, schools, churches and places of worship, families, friends, and affinity groups. Below, is a compilation of state and national resource related to best practices for postvention for schools, communities, grief support, and public communications after a suicide death.
View these toolkits below.
State Postvention Toolkit
Community Postvention
The demand for postvention resources in Utah has grown exponentially over the past several years as schools, employers, and other organizations have realized the devastation that comes in the wake of a suicide death. In response to this need, the Utah Suicide Prevention Coalition formed a Postvention Sub-committee in 2019 s comprised of partners from Utah Department of Health , Utah Department of Human Services- Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health, the Office of the Medical Examiner, and the Utah State Board of Education. This committee developed a Community Postvention Toolkit, which was released in 2021. This toolkit provides guidance and tools for a community response after a suicide death, and follows the key postvention principles outlined by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center: 1) Planning ahead to address individual and community needs, 2) Providing immediate and long-term support, 3) Tailoring responses and services to the unique needs of suicide loss survivors, and 4) Involving survivors of suicide loss in planning and implementing postvention efforts.
Other community postvention resources can be found below.