BRAZOS COUNTY, Texas — Death may be an uncomfortable topic to talk about and grieving may be difficult to do alone.
Nearly 20 people in the Brazos Valley die by suicide each year.
The Brazos Valley Coalition of Suicide Prevention is launching its first suicide loss peer support group on Friday to be a resource for those grieving in the community.
“It’s free to anybody in the Brazos Valley. It’s confidential and it’s an open meeting so you don’t have to start on day one," said Doug Vance, who is president of the BVCOSP. "People can come in at any time during the year. They’ll be held once a month."
This support group is only for adults 18 and older and will meet every second Friday of the month. With the ongoing pandemic, people may feel isolated and alone in their grieving if they've lost a loved one or they're just alone and are in crisis.
“With COVID and lockdowns and everything we’ve been experiencing in the last year and continue to experience, that can only add to somebody’s level of grief," Vance said. "Isolation is a correlate for a lot of mental health issues including grief and if you've lost a loved one, the worst thing you can do is isolate. We want to connect people with other people who have been in similar situations."
Although this first support group is for adults to talk about suicide loss, Vance said the coalition is here to meet the community’s needs. The organization has a lot of resources for people of all ages and is here to help.
Due to the coronavirus, the support group will be hybrid, partly in person and partly on zoom.