HEALING THE LOSS

The film, Healing The Loss, explores places of special meaning where people remember their loved one lost to suicide. One such place is the Clootie Tree in the heart of the Scottish Borders, where a group of people bereaved by suicide have come together in their shared experience and dedicated the tree to people who have died by suicide.

This film was produced by Alchemy Film & Arts together with the After A Suicide Working Group. The After a Suicide Working Group is a group of volunteers with lived experience of bereavement by suicide who live in the Scottish Borders. The group is not a support group, but offers members the opportunity to use lived experience to contribute to the local suicide prevention strategy. The film and event have been supported by Scottish Borders Joint Health Improvement Team, and takes place as part of Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival 2021.

This film is for anyone who has experienced bereavement by suicide, has supported someone bereaved by suicide, or would like to find out more information about the After A Suicide Working Group in the Scottish Borders.

What is ‘normality’ after losing someone to suicide? With estimates that up to 135 people can be affected by each suicide, how can family, friends, health professionals and the wider community support one another and what has helped during this difficult time?

A map to The Clootie Tree can be found here.

This project is part of Film Town, Alchemy Film & Arts’s community-engaged creative learning programme.