• Over the last 100 years, suicides have outnumbered homicides by at least three to two. 
• Suicide is the third leading cause of death among Americans ages 10-24 and the second leading cause of death for American college students
•  More than 31,000 lives are lost each year to suicide
• Statistically one suicide death occurs every 16 minutes
• 650,000 people receive emergency care after attempting to take their own lives
•  For each person who dies by suicide, at least 6 individuals are left behind in the wake of these tragedies; those figures translate into 180,000 people each year that lose a loved one to suicide, and because there is such a stigma surrounding suicide, many of those survivors often deal with their grief in isolation
•  Those who have experienced the loss of a loved one to suicide often suffer severe emotional problems and are themselves at increased risk for suicide

Support groups provide an environment for suicide survivors to deal with their own grief, process their feelings and experiences, and transform their grief into positive action.