Ken Norton, LICSW, Suicide Postvention as Suicide Prevention 

People easily understand the need to provide comfort and support to family and friends after the suicide of a loved one. But they may not realize how many others are affected by that death…or for how long afterward. In this talk, Ken Norton, LICSW, Executive Director of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) in New Hampshire, discusses the role of “postvention” not only as a response to what has happened, but also as protection against and preparation for what could happen. Based on his experience with the development and implementation of “Connect Suicide Postvention Training, Mr. Norton describes how a community can come together to keep its members safe.
Ken Norton, LICSW, is the executive director of NAMI New Hampshire, the NH Chapter of the National Alliance of Mental Illness. NAMI NH developed the Connect Suicide Postvention Training which is included in the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) Best Practices Registry. Mr. Norton is on the Steering Committee for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. He is also on the NH State Suicide Prevention Council which was established by legislation he proposed. Mr. Norton also wrote legislation that established NH’s Suicide Fatality Review Committee, the first state-level or legislatively-established suicide fatality review committee in the country.
For additional resources, visit sparktalks.sprc.org.