Tracy Stewart remembers her daughter coming into her room saying, “good night, mom. I love you.” Then at 1:55, came the phone call, and for Stewart, her nightmare.

Stewart lost her daughter, Meagan, by suicide in March 2022. She said Meagan was a strong and independent girl.

“I have three other children and then I had grandchildren. So, I wanted to try to heal because it was hard, because I was in so much pain, but so was my family,” Stewart said.

Since Meagan’s passing, Stewart and her family have been on a mission to raise awareness of suicide prevention, and to help people affected by suicide loss.

“There has to be more support. There's no services. There are a lot of suicide prevention, but there’s nothing for postvention. And so that's where we decided to make models for Meag and try to help other families,” Stewart said.

International Survivors of Suicide Loss Day is November 18. It’s a day to remember loved ones who have died by suicide, connect with others and hopefully find some healing. Fellow survivor Karen Heisig encourages others to take part.

“Not talking about it is what leads to more people dying by suicide, because when we can't have those healthy conversations, then we are sending the message to somebody that's struggling that it's not OK to talk about this. So with survivors of suicide loss in particular, that's why it's so important to have events like Survivor Day," said Heisig, who’s the area director of the Greater Central New York Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

Stewart and Heisig encourage other survivors of suicide loss to join a community that can relate to the pain, and to have grace with yourself, as guilt can often creep in.

As a message to others, they said don’t avoid talking about the person who is no longer here, because survivors often want to hear about good memories of their loved one.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention says everyone grieves differently, but suggests that people who have experienced a loss may want to reach out to family and friends, create new traditions – as old traditions may be too painful — and be kind to yourself.