Grief Resources

• National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Utah
• University of Utah College of Nursing- Caring Connections:  Hope and Comfort in Grief

After a Suicide

Grief associated with suicide can be especially difficult. Those who lose someone close to suicide may be feeling intense anger, shame and guilt. Survivors of suicide (those who lost someone close) sometimes wrestle with trying to understand and accept the death of someone close for years.

Survivors of suicide are not alone; there are many others who have been affected by suicide and have experienced many of the same emotions. Grief manifests differently in many individuals.  There is support for survivors of suicide and we encourage you to seek it out for yourself and others who may have lost someone to suicide.

Survivors of Suicide Support Groups

• Utah Suicide Prevention Coalition
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
• University of Utah College of Nursing- Caring Connections: Hope and Comfort in Grief
• NAMI Utah
• Utah Suicide Support Groups

After an Overdose

Grief associated with an overdose can be full of pain, uncertainty, guilt and shame. Families bereaved by drug-overdose death may face social stigma, personal doubts and frequently feel that they lack support from family, friends, and the community. It’s not uncommon for people to feel isolated during this time. There are, however, thousands of Utahans who have been affected by overdose and many people who are able to support those who have also lost someone to an overdose. The following organizations provide resources for those who have lost someone to an overdose death:

• Utah Supports Advocates Recovery Awareness (USARA)
• University of Utah College of Nursing- Caring Connections: Hope and Comfort in Grief
• NAMI Utah
• Grief Recovery After a Substance Passing (GRASP)

Grieving During COVID-19

Grieving a loss can be difficult even at the best of times and may be especially challenging during the COVID-19 pandemic. Following are resources to help support you or someone you know while grieving during the pandemic:

• Grief: The New Normal | Chaplaincy Innovation Lab 
• Responding to Change and Loss | National Alliance for Grieving Children 
• Grieving in Exceptional Times | Irish Hospice Foundation 
• Planning a Funeral in Exceptional Times | Irish Hospice Foundation 

COVID-19 Grief Resources for Professionals

Use the following resources to support the bereaved during the COVID-19 pandemic or for those who have lost someone to COVID-19:

• COVID and Complicated Grief | Association for Death Education and Counseling 
• COVID Toolkit | The Order of the Good Death 
• Grief Counseling Field Manual | New York State 
• Complicated Grief Resources | Center for Complicated Grief