PHILOSOPHY
SOUL SHOP IS BUILT ON EIGHT KEY POINTS:
Key Idea #1: Suicidal desperation can begin for anyone given an accumulation of losses combined with a reduction in resources to deal with those losses.
Key Idea #2: At any particular moment, a significant percentage of persons within a faith community are being impacted by suicide whether in their own thinking, in the life of someone they care about, in the traumatic memory of a suicide of a friend or family member, or in their own personal history of a suicide attempt or near-attempt from which they have emerged.
Key Idea #3: Faith communities have a responsibility not only for preventing suicide and suicide attempts, but also for ministering to those experiencing desperation due to all the various impacts of suicide such as loss, fear, isolation and hopelessness.
Key Idea #4: The persons who are best positioned to address suicide are those most likely to identify it in the first place, e.g. family members, friends, congregants, and office staff. Therefore, a public health approach to suicide ministry that equips the entire community.
Key Idea #5: Faith communities offer important resources that can address the two primary reasons people begin to think about suicide, a loss of hope, and a loss of social connection.
Key Idea #6: The primary obstacles to ministering to suicide desperation are emotional rather than informational and include stigma, fear, and shame. These must be addressed through practicing a different behavior in a supportive environment rather than through lectures or presentations.
Key Idea #7: As a faith community begins to adjust to the reality of suicide’s impact among its members, it must fundamentally alter the way members interact with one another.
Key Idea # 8: Suicidal desperation is never about just one factor. There are multiple contributaries that lead to suicidal desperation which include shame, shunning, sickness, stress, societal factors and signals that life needs fundamental changes. For churches to minister to those impacted by suicide, it must develop strategies to deal with each of these contributories.