Formerly, for more than twelve years, our support group LISOS (Long Island Survivors of Suicide) met at Temple Tikvah – New Hyde Park, 3315 Hillside Ave., New Hyde Park, NY 11030. During those early years we met in the temple library. Ever since the onset of the Covid pandemic in 2019 we have kept our support group going with monthly meetings now on Zoom. Presently, with the moderation of Covid infections, for the time being and for the foreseeable future, we have decided to retain our Zoom meeting format. Meetings now begin promptly at 7:30 PM and usually last 90 minutes to  9:00PM on the second Wednesday of every month, like they had been scheduled at the temple, unless it becomes necessary to change a meeting date for other reasons.

       All newcomers to our group will have a telephone conversation with one of the co-facilitators before attending their first Zoom meeting. It is a requirement of participation to keep the attendee’s camera on during the meeting and to follow other rules of net etiquette, respecting the other attendees at the meeting. Once a newcomer has had an initial screening interview, their email will be added to the confidential listing of all member addresses. A few days before every meeting, members will receive an email solicitation regarding their interest in attending the next meeting. Those expressing interest will be sent Zoom invitations on the morning of the meeting date. 

     It is important to recognize that our group is non-sectarian and non-denominational.

       Everyone is welcome: members of any faith, those claiming no religious affiliations, and people of all racial and cultural affiliations. There are no fees charged for participation in our Zoom support groups.

       We expect that our membership base will consist of survivors of suicide i.e. those who lost loved ones to suicide, those who lost a child, parent, spouse or partner, sibling, other relative or friend to suicide. All meeting participants will be adults. We also welcome the bereaved from drug overdose death losses, which evidence shows have great similarity to those coping with suicide bereavements. Suicide survivors who not only have lost someone to suicide but also struggle with their own depression and/or prior history of suicidality are also welcome. 

       Suicide cuts across most boundaries of class, professions and educational differences and we have among our ranks a very diverse population of bereaved adults, all sharing the common interest in how we survive after a suicide loss.