Break the silence with a HUGG meeting

HUGG, Support After Suicide, launched a new suicide bereavement support group, which will begin meeting next week. The Carlow group will meet on Tuesday evenings, from 7:30 to 9:30pm, facilitated by trained volunteers with lived experience of suicide loss.

HUGG, the national suicide bereavement organisation, noted that for every one person who dies by suicide, up to 135 people are affected. While grieving the loss of a loved one, a loss through suicide leaves many people with heavy burdens, unanswered questions and feelings of regret, self-blame, guilt, shame, and stigma.

The support group will provide “a compassionate space where challenges can be shared, ways of coping exchanged, and memories of loved ones honoured,” said Marie McKeon, HUGG groups manager.

“It is vital we break the silence and isolation that too often accompanies suicide loss,” she continued.

The organisation was founded in 2017 by Fiona Tuomey, following the devastating death by suicide of her 11-year-old daughter Milly. Fiona set up HUGG’s first support group in 2017 and HUGG became a registered charity in 2018, on Milly’s birthday. HUGG focuses on “postvention” services, an important part of preventing further suicide after one has occurred, and on promoting hope for people bereaved by suicide.

One of the volunteers, Martina Spillane Byrne, said, “Losing my friend to suicide 30 years ago was incredibly hard, and if groups like HUGG had existed then, my journey through grief would have been much easier. I’ve seen how important it is for people to have a safe space to share their grief and navigate one of the most difficult and overwhelming times in their lives.” The venue for the Carlow meeting is located on the outskirts of the town within walking distance to several bus routes and the train station. It will serve the local Carlow community and surrounding areas such as Tullow and Muine Bheag, parts of Kildare, Laois, and southwest Wicklow.

Anyone who wants to attend must register online at http://www.HUGG.ie or over the phone (01 513 4048): no walk-ins are accepted. Once registered, you can attend a support group as often or as little as you wish.

In addition to the support groups, HUGG provides free practical information and emotional support after suicide through their telephone support line, walks, pop-up cafés, and events. In addition to this, they offer information and resources on grief after suicide on their website and through events and webinars.