On this episode of the Hope Discovered Podcast our guest is Shannon Ortiz. Shannon is an advocate for survivors of suicide loss. She is most known as the founder of Light After Loss, an organization that is a trauma focused support system for survivors of suicide loss providing hope for healing through education, resources, and support services surrounding the grief and trauma of losing someone to suicide.

Recently, Shannon has been excited to announce the opening of the Hope and Healing Center. This location is a center where seeds of Care, Compassion, and Community are planted, nurtured, and grown.

During this discussion Shannon talks about the importance of not only suicide prevention, but also the role of postvention in the wake of a death by suicide. The close family members and friends of someone who has died from suicide are at an elevated risk of suicide themselves.

We also discuss the challenges of advocating for suicide awareness because of the prevalent stigma around death by suicide. This stigma can often prevent someone who is at risk from seeking help and can impact the survivors of suicide loss as they try to recover.

You can find out more about Light After Loss and the Hope and Healing Center at https://lightafterlossstark.org/ The phone number is (330) 846-3630 and the email is lightafterlossstark@gmail.com.

You can find out more about CommQuest Services at https://www.commquest.org/ or call 330-455-0374.