Foundation 2 Crisis Services provides ongoing emotional assistance through family counseling at the Emergency Youth Shelter and our community support group that focuses on supporting those who have lost a loved one to suicide.
Counseling and Support
Counseling and Support
Suicide Loss Survivor Support Group
Losing a loved one to suicide is a traumatic experience. Emotional reactions are often complex and people may find that they are experiencing a bewildering range of feelings including guilt, anger, shame, rejection, sadness, and fear. If you have lost a loved one to suicide you don’t have to grieve alone. This group offers a supportive and safe environment for adults to share and connect with others who have lost a friend or family member to suicide.
Who Can Attend
Adults (ages 18+) who have lost a friend or family member to suicide. Survivors at any stage of their grieving process are welcome.
Location & Time
The group meets on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month from 6-7:30 p.m. The location varies, so please contact facilitator Shannon Pree at 319-362-2174 prior to attending your first meeting.
Note
There are no fees to attend the group. Free-will donations are appreciated.
Contact
Before attending for the first time, we ask that you please call our facilitator, Shannon Pree, at 319-362-2174 for the most up-to-date information on meeting times and more.
Counseling
Foundation 2 offers immediate crisis counseling for youth, individuals and families in the Cedar Rapids area.
The Foundation 2 Family Counseling program provides individual and family counseling on an out-client basis. Counseling is provided on a sliding fee scale, based on income and the ability to pay.
Mobile Crisis Outreach provides on-site crisis intervention to individuals in Linn County 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Family Counseling
Family Counseling is available at the Foundation 2 Youth Shelter. Long-term counseling is provided on a sliding fee scale, based on income and ability to pay. Contact 319-366-8797 to schedule an appointment.
They focus on preventing runaway behavior, suicide attempts, child abuse, family breakup, school failure, or the placement of a runaway or homeless youth.
Referrals are accepted from parents/guardians, law enforcement officials, social workers, and other human service professionals. Contact the Foundation 2 Youth Shelter at 319-366-8797.
Our Goals
Shelter and family counseling services are designed to:
- Restore appropriate parent-child roles
- Clarify strengths, values, and needs
- Aid in listening and understanding
- Explore solutions to troubling issues
- Build skills in order to prevent or resolve future conflicts
Learn More
What are support groups all about?
- Listening: Share feelings and explore painful questions in a supportive environment. Members also share coping techniques.
- Reassurance: Know you are not suffering alone, and that your reactions, thoughts and feelings are not unusual.
- Opportunity: Reaching out, even in the midst of your own pain, to help others in a similar situation can be a healing experience in itself.
- Information: Learn the facts about suicide, grief and depression.
Are My Feelings Normal?
To be at peace with the deceased, survivors must grieve. Aside from the typical aspects of grief, as a suicide survivor, you may be experiencing:
- Stigma: Other people—sometimes even your relatives and friends—may avoid you or even blame you for the death. You might feel ashamed that such a thing happened in your family.
- Guilt: Because suicide has been called “the preventable death,” you may think you could have kept it from happening.
- Rejection: You may feel abandoned, reasoning that, because your loved one chose death, he or she chose not to live with you.
- Anger: Your pain can take the form of anger toward the deceased, toward professionals for not preventing it, toward yourself, or even toward God.
- Questioning: Survivors can be overwhelmed wondering why the person took his or her life. You may wonder what you could have done to prevent it.