Alternatives to Suicide
New Alt2Su Group!
Alternatives to Suicide groups through Mental Health America of Wisconsin
Alternatives to Suicide is a peer led support group that allows participants to talk about suicidal thoughts, feelings, or experiences without fear of being judged. Participants share their struggles and successes, provide support for one another, and strategize about alternatives to help each other best cope with difficult life circumstances. People are encouraged to come in both times of strength and challenge; you need not be in crisis to attend this group. Click here to read more about the Alternatives to Suicide Approach.
This group will meet on the second and fourth Thursdays 7-8:30 PM CT online via Zoom (this Zoom info will remain the same for each meeting).
Join by Zoom Meeting ID: 860 2730 7132
Phone in option: +1 312 626 6799
Complete this interest form to share your name, email address, and group preference. You can also email us for call 414-336-7970 for more information
NAMI Fox Valley Peer Support Groups
Check out the online support groups offered by NAMI Fox Valley here.
For information on how to bring a group to your area, visit the Wildflower Alliance web page on Alternatives to Suicide.
Other Resources for Those Living with Thoughts/Feelings of Suicide
Wisconsin Peer-Run Respites - Peer-run respites are for individuals living with mental health or substance use concerns. These places offer a supportive, home-like environment during times of increased stress or symptoms. Guests schedule overnight stays. Most guests stay for no longer than one week. Covid limitations may apply.
Now Matters Now - Free online trainings to learn basic DBT skills to manage suicidal urges and other big feelings. Also features videos and stories from others with lived experience.
Live Through This - Series of portraits and stories from suicide attempt survivors. Its mission is to change public attitudes about suicide for the better; to reduce prejudice and discrimination against attempt survivors; to provide comfort to those experiencing suicidal thoughts by letting them know that they’re not alone and tomorrow is possible; to give insight to those who have trouble understanding suicidal thoughts and actions, and catharsis to those who have lost a loved one; and to be used as a teaching tool for clinicians in training, or anyone else who might benefit from a deeper understanding of first-person experiences with suicide.
Self-Injury Outreach and Support - As part of a collaboration between the University of Guelph and McGill University, we are a non-profit outreach initiative providing information and resources about self-injury to those who self-injure, those who have recovered, and those who want to help.
Project LETS - Questions to Ask Before Giving Up
Project LETS Self-Harm Initiative
Downloadable Resources
Suicide Attempt Survivors Task Force
The National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention, convened, for the first time, a national task force, of community leaders who have been suicidal to develop and issue a report with sweeping recommendations for how suicide attempt survivors ought to be treated. This group of individuals from around the country, diverse in age, ethnicity, employment and region met for nearly two years to look at suicide prevention in a whole new way.
The Way Forward: Pathways to hope, recovery, and wellness with insights from lived experience (The Way Forward), published in summer 2014, puts people who have been suicidal front and center in the national conversation about mental health and frames suicide attempt survivors as essential partners.
AAS Suicide Attempt Survivors Resources
In 2014, the American Association of Suicidology (AAS) took the historic step of approving a membership division for people who have been suicidal and their supporters. Their goal is to make sure people who’ve been suicidal are central to research, policy-making, public messaging, treatment and support. Check out the AAS Attempt Survivors Resources.
As we become more open and confident in discussing suicidal thinking, the resources for us grow. We are encouraging and supporting people who want to step forward to share their stories and their hope.
Additional Resources