Aurora Suicide & Self-Injury Mutual Support

NO RSVP IS NEEDED — YOU CAN JUST SHOW UP.

You do not need to publicly associate your Meetup profile with this gathering in order to attend. RSVPs are optional because privacy matters, especially when people are talking about suicide and self-injury.

Suicide & Self-Injury Mutual Support is a non-carceral, peer-led gathering for people who want somewhere they can speak honestly about suicide, self-injury, despair, survival, ambivalence, and the complicated work of continuing to live.

You do not need to be in an immediate crisis to belong here. You may be struggling right now, living with recurring thoughts or urges, processing something from the past, trying to understand your relationship with suicide or self-injury, or simply wanting to be around people who can talk about these experiences without panic, shame, or forced positivity.

This is mutual support, not therapy, crisis treatment, case management, or professional counseling. The people facilitating the gathering are peers and villagers too. They are there because they have skills that can help hold the conversation—not because they are healthier, more recovered, or responsible for everyone else. Facilitators may talk about their own struggles, ask for support, have difficult days, and participate in the group like anyone else.

We try to practice:

• connection rather than control
• curiosity rather than interrogation
• presence rather than fixing
• harm reduction rather than shame
• autonomy rather than taking ownership of another person’s life
• mutuality rather than dividing the room into “helpers” and “people who need help”

People are welcome to talk directly about suicidal thoughts, self-injury urges, attempts, relapse, survival, anger, uncertainty, reasons for living, attraction to death, or not knowing what they want. No one has to prove that their pain is severe enough to matter, perform hopefulness, promise that they are “safe,” or accept advice they did not ask for.

We avoid graphic procedural detail that could become overwhelming or instructional, but people do not have to sanitize the emotional reality of what they are experiencing.

You are welcome to speak, listen quietly, pass, take a break, leave early, or change your mind. Different communication styles are welcome. We ask people to respect privacy, consent, boundaries, and one another’s autonomy.

This gathering is part of Outsiders Village, where the goal is not to create clients and providers but relationships among people who can offer and receive care from one another.

You do not have to RSVP. If this sounds like a room you need, you can simply come.