On Monday, July 27th, I logged onto the suicide grief support session not knowing what to expect. I have not lost a loved one to suicide, yet I felt drawn to be there, to listen, to pray, to hold space. What I found was something far more profound than information, but a meeting filled with courageous hearts.
The session, hosted by the Archdiocesan Family Life Commission, was facilitated with extraordinary grace by Mrs. Darlene Smith-Oliver. Darlene’s gentle grounding exercise at the start to the way she held the group through difficult conversations, her leadership was a supportive anchor. She created an atmosphere where pain could be spoken without shame, where tears were not a weakness, but a witness to love.
What stayed with me the most was the discussion on “Psych-Ache”, a deep, often invisible suffering that can overwhelm a person’s mind and body. Hearing it explained gave me a vocabulary for a kind of pain I had never fully understood. It truly shifted my perception. A participant responded, “It struck me, it really reached me, because, yes I know people die by suicide, but it is not something that I really ever thought seriously about, but hearing it described what affects the person and how the person reacts, that has really opened up something for me…I am so glad to hear that, it really opened up my thinking.”
I sat there realizing how much empathy we owe to those battling storms we cannot see, and how vital it is that we, as a community, learn to recognize the signs rather than look away, which was highlighted by one participant, “The need to show others empathy because you really don’t know what others are going through and to celebrate others, the goodness in others.”
“The true teachers of the evening, however, were the participants. They spoke of memories, of guilt, of finding purpose again, and as one participant, who lost her daughter to suicide shared, I choose to remember my daughter by how she lived and not by how she died…” I did not carry their specific grief, yet I left feeling connected to something sacred, that none of us must carry our burdens alone. (Galatians 6:2)
There was a call for “men’s forums, develop more men’s groups to encourage men to speak up and talk out, young people as well”. With the alarming statistics in Trinidad where, “Men are dying by suicide almost four times as often as women. From 2020 to 2023, the nation reported 478 suicides, an astonishing 83 per cent of which involved males. Even in 2023, although the overall figures showed a decrease, men still accounted for 78 per cent of these deaths.” (Sunday Newsday, January 4, 2026). This urgent call needs attention.
This is the heart of the work of the Archdiocesan Family Life Commission building communities of life and love where God is present in the suffering giving hope, where no one suffers in silence. Whether you have walked this particular road of loss or simply want to understand it better, there is a place for you here.
September is Suicide Awareness Month. The next When A Loved One dies by suicide session will be held on Monday, September 28th, 2026 from 7pm. We hope you will consider joining us. You do not need to have all the answers, nor do you need to feel obligated to participate. All we ask is that you attend. Register today by contacting us via email: familylife@catholictt.org; or visit our website: aflcrc.org.
If you or someone you know is in a crisis or emotional distress, please call 800-COPE (2673); Lifeline – 800 5500 or Childline – 800 4321.