The loss of a loved one to suicide can have a terrible impact on their friends and family. However, Crystal Partney is helping them work through the healing process through her company, Scattering Hope.
Coping With the Loss of a Loved One
Suicide is a global issue that claims the lives of over 700,000 people every year. Each one of them leaves behind friends and families. Those left behind are often shocked, never having realized that their loved one was struggling. They don’t know what to do next, how to handle the loss, grief, and pain they now feel. Scattering Hope is a company that provides support during this situation.
Crystal Partney founded Scattering Hope to help friends and families heal who have lost someone to suicide. She began her efforts after losing her sister, Gina, to suicide. Knowing firsthand how the grief and loss that those left behind go through, Partney strives to bring people the support and tools they need throughout their healing journey.
Scattering Hope is also accompanied by another “sister” company founded by Partney, Owl & Thistle. This sister company provides information for suicide prevention, helping people understand the signs to watch for in their loved ones and how to reach out when it becomes clear that they are struggling.
Journaling Helps Start the Healing Process
Scattering Hope provides suicide loss survivors with a 30-day journaling process called by the same name, Scattering Hope. The collection of journal prompts, and other content written by Partney is meant to stimulate and inspire the healing process, letting survivors start to process their grief in a healthy way.
Each day within the journal features a particular theme or idea, often addressing common issues that suicide loss survivors face, such as blaming themselves. With the theme and prompts are bible verses related to the topics, Partney’s explanation of the significance of the topics, and affirmations.
Partney drew inspiration for this journaling system from her own experience following the loss of her sister. She used journaling to move through her healing process, and Scattering Hope provides prompts and insights for those who might not know how to implement journaling into their journey.
Working Through the Shock and Grief
The first 30 days are a significant trial in itself for those who have lost someone to suicide. Partney believes that focusing on individual days can help people make it through that initial shock and grief, breaking down what can seem like an aimless and intimidating journey into manageable pieces.
Focusing on journal prompts lets every individual make the process their own. There isn’t some simple roadmap to life following the loss of a loved one, and everyone’s experience will be different. The journal prompts serve to guide people in the direction of healing while leaving room for individuals to adapt.
Partney has developed Scattering Hope in order to help those who go through the same grief and pain of the loss of a loved one to suicide that she went through reach a place of healing and progress.
