Alternatives to Suicide
Alternatives to Suicide (A2su) is a peer-based response to supporting people who have made suicidal attempts or who have experienced suicidal thoughts. The approach was developed in 2008 by the Western Massachusetts Recovery Learning Community (USA – now called The Wildflower Alliance). This peer-to-peer practice consists of mutual support groups that provide a space for voicing, sitting with, understanding, and moving through suicidal thoughts.
A2su groups are for anyone 18+ years old with personal experiences of suicidal thoughts or actions to talk about suicidal experiences and other forms of emotional distress without fear of being put through a crisis management system.
ELW Support Group: "Life-threatening Despair Survivors" (Our Programs)
“The goal is not to simply force someone to stay alive from moment to moment. Rather, it is to support them to create meaning and a life that they want to live. Not killing one’s self is simply a side-effect of all that…”
Dedicated to the Memory of Josi Stewart