MC Hopes holds their annual Healing and Hope in Monterey County for International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day

MONTEREY COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV) -- For International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day on Saturday, MC Hopes is holding their annual Healing and Hope in Monterey County from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The event will be held at the United Way Makerspace in Salinas, and is available to anyone who has been affected by a suicide loss (or supports loss survivors). The organization says that they are taking reservations at https://salinas-california.isosld.afsp.org/.

"The holidays can be very difficult for those who have lost a loved one, it is a season when others seem so happy and a person suffering from grief often feels out of place," says the MC Hopes. "If that loved one died by suicide, it can feel like isolating and lonely. If you have lost a loved one to suicide, you are not alone."

In addition to local resources, healing and remembrance activities, the program will feature AFSP’s Film: “Pathway to Healing: Support After Suicide Loss” as well as opportunities for discussion, sharing and connection.

"Each year across the world, people affected by suicide loss gather together with others in their local communities, to find comfort and share stories of healing and hope," says the MC Hopes. "For many loss survivors, attending a Survivor Day event is an opportunity to discover that they are not alone in their experience of losing someone they know and love to suicide."

Healing and Hope in Monterey County urges anyone who may be experiencing mental health-related distress or is worried about a loved one who may need crisis support, to please call or text 988, or chat online with a crisis counselor at 988lifeline.org.