6/5/13 - A special ceremony held at St. Joseph Mercy Livingston Hospital last night is organized each year to help local residents cope with the loss of loved ones to suicide. For years, the Livingston County Survivors of Suicide Support Group has held a balloon launch at the hospital in June. Community Mental Health Social Worker Amy DeMare Burton says it got started when organizers realized the group was not doing any sort of formal honoring of the deceased, which can be beneficial to the grieving and healing process. She tells WHMI they chose to release helium balloons as a group to help bring the members of the support group together, and the activity is peaceful and cathartic for many. She says the group gets higher attendance for the meeting that includes the ceremony every year. The meeting also touched on the upcoming Walk to Prevent Suicide fundraiser, scheduled for late September in Kensington Metropark. For more information about the support group, contact Burton at (517) 546-4126 or Diane Heinlein at dheinlein@cmhliv.org. For more information about the Walk to Prevent Suicide, follow the link below. (TD)
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