Spotlight on Decentralized Comprehensive Postvention - Community Action, Funding, Research, and After Care
Hello and Welcome! This is the first Postvention Alliance newsletter since reorganizing from 501(c)3 to 501(c)4 in January of 2023. Postvention Alliance is now an NGO registered in Wyoming, USA.
Readers may be wondering about the title of this news post. What is the point of organizing around decentralized postvention?
In this context, it means acknowledging that postventionists have been working, largely unacknowledged and unpaid, for decades. It means that survivors across the spectrum deserve to lead suicide prevention, intervention, and postvention efforts. It means finding and reaching out to one another and supporting comprehensive efforts. It means acknowledging that everyone affected - attempt survivors, caregivers, loss survivors, students, school staff, providers, coworkers, last responders, and others are all deserving of after care.
Above all it means listening to survivors and supporting the efforts we jointly identify as effective and meaningful.
Podcast spotlights: Unapologetically Black Unicorns with Keris Jän Myrick, Mad in America: Rethinking Mental Health, Hope Illuminated with Sally Spencer Thomas.
A Street Level View of Postvention in Action
We define comprehensive postvention as activities which care for all categories of survivors along the intentional self-harm & suicide spectrum.
We believe that research should be conducted by survivors themselves. We subscribe to Chicago Beyond’s guidance for community organizations, researchers, and funders.
We adhere to the NOTHING-ABOUT-US WITHOUT-US model of knowledge-production.
#Greenland
We offer our condolences and concern for Greenland which suffers loss up to 10x of other high loss areas in the world. “Time trends and geographical patterns in suicide among Greenland Intuit"
A few impressive postvention and postvention-related community centered programs
Africa: A group of grandmothers in Zimbabwe is helping the world reimagine mental health care, a community centered solution to ease distress.
Australia: Carer Getaway - a new Australia-wide network of Carer Gateway service providers
Brazil: Centro de Valorização da Vida - CVV Centro de Valorização da Vida provides emotional support and suicide prevention, voluntarily and free of charge to all people who want and need to talk, under total secrecy by telephone, email and chat 24 hours a day. (translated to English using Google translate)
Norway: LEVE's brochures “Here you will find a good overview of everything from reactions to suicide to practical information about what happens after a suicide, what help you get and what help you can seek.” (translated to English using Google translate)
USA: Everyone Has a Story Project - “We exist to provide hope that when an incarcerated person is released, they have stayed connected with their child.” Incarceration is an indicator for suicide attempts and deaths. Connection decreases suicidal behavior.
Recent Policy Action
Australia: PVA contributes to the 2023 Pre-Budget Submission to the Commonwealth Government
USA: Texas adoptee legislation - H.B.ANo.A2006 relating to birth records of adopted persons with public testimony (adoptees suffer 4x attempt rate than the general population)
Upcoming Conferences
The Northern Network for Medical Humanities - Congress 2023 - Online conference | April 19-21, 2023 a three-day online conference which promises to be an essential calendar event for medical humanities research. The previous Congress was attended by over 1,300 delegates, from Europe, the Americas, South Africa, the Middle East, and Australasia. Register
Iowa Peer Network - PEER SUPPORT SUMMIT
May 19 & 20 2023 | West Des Moines
IASP 32ND WORLD CONGRESS - The International Association for Suicide Prevention is delighted to be hosting the 32nd IASP World Congress in Piran, Slovenia from 19th - 23rd September 2023. Please note, a community day is organised for the 23 September, which will be hosted in Slovene.
Suicide Bereavement UK’s 12th International Conference - Stand By Me
One day conference: 28th September 2023 – 9am to 4.30pm (registration from 8am) Mercure Manchester Piccadilly Hotel, Manchester