Another resource, published by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center,
is After a Suicide: Recommendations for Religious Services and Other Public Memorial Observances. It offers recommendations to help faith and community leaders plan memorial observances that not only promote healing but also help prevent future suicides. It says:
"As a society, we have not informed ourselves well about suicide. Misinformation and inaccurate religious views of suicide create an environment that leaves survivors isolated and embarrassed, even though they may have been powerless to prevent the tragic event. This should be a time for healing, not judging. The individual act cannot be undone. A community will be able to bring healing to its members if it has a better awareness and more accurate understanding of suicide. A better informed community is also better equipped to recognize and respond to signs that someone else they know and love is at risk of taking his or her own life."
