It was a picture perfect world. A loving husband and his beautiful wife.
Yet, all that changed in April, 2012 when Jim Yoder found his wife Tammy dead of suicide in their home.
Like other survivors of suicide, Jim said he had questions and needed help, so he joined the local support group “Good Grief Of Kansas”. “I often say it’s the hardest part of the week, but it’s also the best hour of the week. I usually cry going home. A lot of pain gets shared there. But it is the one place where we can go where everyone in the room understands,” said Yoder.
It’s through the group where Yoder has found comfort and friendship. Rick Burr’s son took his life in 2012. “You can see into their eyes and they see into yours and you understand what they’re feeling at that point in time,” said Burr.
Now Yoder is leading his support group and Burr is raising awareness through another. One thing that Yoder and Burr say is important to reducing suicides is eliminating the stigma and begin to have open discussions about it with loved ones and friends.
To learn more about crisis intervention services in Sedgwick County
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