Who We Help
Everyone needs help sometimes
If you’re seeking peace, you deserve support—and we’re here for you. Through our community partners and dedicated programs, we walk beside you every step of the way. Our primary focus is on individuals and families bereaved by suicide or other trauma, offering practical help, understanding, comfort, and a steady presence when the world feels too heavy. We stand with you in this journey, helping you find ways to cope and to keep going.
Everyone’s journey is special and unique. Some people come to us in crisis, while others are looking for clarity, reassurance, or simply want to know how they can lend a helping hand to others. At HUG, we embrace the idea of extreme listening—it’s all about listening with our ears and our hearts. Whether you’re facing struggles, on the path to recovery, or eager to give back, remember, it’s completely okay to reach out for help when you need it. The groups listed below showcase just some of the wonderful communities we work with—individuals at various stages of life, each dealing with real and complex challenges. Through connection, shared experiences, and a common purpose, HUG helps people reconnect with their reasons for living. We’re here to connect you with support, resources, and meaningful pathways—whether that’s toward healing, understanding, or stepping up to help someone else. Always remember, no matter where you are in your journey, the key is to Keep Going!
Bereaved by Suicide
Losing someone to suicide fractures your world in ways few can understand. You may be flooded with guilt, anger, confusion, or shame—feelings that others around you don’t know how to talk about. You feel that other people’s struggles are greater than yours. You don’t want to be a burden to the system. So you stay quiet. And try to cope. But it’s not working. You’re left piecing together a story without closure, sometimes facing stigma when you try to speak your grief aloud. The silence surrounding suicide loss can deepen your isolation. But your mourning is not invisible. What you’re feeling isn’t something to “move on from”—it’s something to be carried with compassion and support.
Overwhelmed by Crisis
When a crisis hits, life can feel overwhelming. Even the simplest of tasks—getting out of bed, preparing a meal, or facing the day—can seem impossible. Losing a loved one, facing financial hardship, navigating job loss, going through a divorce, or adjusting to major life changes are just some of the life events that can leave you feeling lost and alone.
There is always a way forward, even when it feels out of reach. Sometimes we need someone else to help us navigate the darkness, to listen, understand, and guide us toward safety and support. Help and compassion are available for anyone facing a crisis. Even in the toughest moments, there are paths to hope, stability, and reasons to keep going. Your life counts – you don’t have to face these challenges alone.
Discouraged by the System
When you’ve sought help and were dismissed, misdiagnosed, or retraumatized, it can feel like the system exists to manage—not to heal. You may have cycled through programs, filled out forms, waited on hold, and left feeling worse than when you started. Bureaucracy doesn’t see people, and that kind of erasure cuts deep. The feeling of being reduced to a number or misunderstood by those meant to help is not imagined. Your disillusionment didn’t come from nowhere. It came from experience. And you are not alone in that.
Confused by the System
Your voice matters in every decision. HUG supports your right to understand your options when it comes to mental health and medical treatment. Informed, medical consent isn’t just a policy – it’s a human right. We’re here to help you ask questions, make choices, and feel empowered in your care.
Attempt Survivors
Surviving a suicide attempt often brings more questions than answers. You may feel shame, fear of judgment, or pressure to “get better” faster than you’re ready. Even those who care may struggle to understand what you’re still going through. The path back isn’t simple—it’s layered with trauma, silence, and the fear of falling again. But your survival matters, even on the days when you’re not sure why. What you’ve been through has weight and meaning. Your life, and your healing, deserve to be treated with dignity and respect.
Front-line workers
You’ve been the steady hand in the storm, often without time to process what you’ve seen or felt. From traumatic calls to systemic burnout, you carry the stress of others while suppressing your own. Constant vigilance, long shifts, and moral distress can erode your well-being over time. Compassion fatigue is real, and being in survival mode every day isn’t sustainable. These experiences take a deep toll, even if you’re trained to cope. Your exhaustion and emotional strain are not weaknesses—they’re signs you’ve carried too much, for too long.
Military & Veterans
You were trained to adapt, to endure, and to never falter. But returning home can be the hardest mission of all. The memories don’t fade on command. The habits of survival don’t easily translate to civilian life. You may feel hyperaware, disconnected, or unsure of how to ask for help without feeling weak. The weight of your experiences isn’t always visible, but it’s carried every day. What you’re living with—whether it’s trauma, loss, or disorientation—is a valid and human response to all you’ve given.
Youth
It’s easy for others to dismiss your pain as temporary, but what you feel now is intense, complicated, and real. You’re expected to figure out your future, navigate peer pressure, family dynamics, and mental health—often all at once. The online world adds layers of comparison and criticism, while adults may not take your voice seriously. When you’re told you’re “too young” to struggle, it’s not only invalidating—it’s harmful. Your feelings aren’t overreactions. They’re reflections of real challenges in a confusing, pressurized world.
Distressed
Maybe you don’t have the words for it—just a constant pressure inside your chest, or a sense that something is off. You might feel disconnected, anxious, trapped, or simply numb. The world keeps moving, but you feel stuck, overwhelmed, or adrift. Sometimes the hardest part is trying to justify why you feel this way at all. But pain doesn’t need a clear reason to be valid. You don’t have to reach a breaking point to deserve support. Distress, even when quiet, is still real.
Family & Friends
Supporting someone in crisis can be terrifying. You might feel helpless, unsure of what to say or do, while carrying your own emotional load. The fear of losing someone—or of saying the wrong thing—can keep you up at night. And still, you’re expected to stay calm, present, and strong. Watching someone you love suffer can leave you feeling isolated and overwhelmed. Your role is vital, but it’s also heavy. Being close to pain doesn’t make you immune to it. Your worry, exhaustion, and care matter too.
Indigenous Peoples
Colonialism didn’t end—it evolved. Displacement, generational trauma, and systemic neglect continue to impact Indigenous lives today. You may be carrying cultural grief, community responsibility, and the struggle to preserve identity in systems not built for you. Discrimination is still present, access to care is often limited, and silence has long been imposed. These struggles aren’t imagined or exaggerated. They are rooted in lived experience, history, and truth. Your pain is not yours alone—it echoes across generations. And it deserves acknowledgment and healing, not dismissal.
Disabilities
Living with a disability—whether visible or invisible—often means fighting two battles: one against the limitations imposed by your body or mind, and another against the assumptions imposed by society. You may be overlooked, underestimated, or treated as though your value is conditional. The daily effort of navigating inaccessible spaces, societal attitudes, or the unseen challenges of mental health can wear down even the strongest spirit. Resilience is often praised, but the reality behind it is rarely acknowledged. You don’t need to prove your worth. The exhaustion and emotional toll of constantly adapting are real and deserve recognition.
LGBTQ
Living authentically in a world that often demands conformity can be exhausting. Many LGBTQ individuals face rejection from families, harassment at school or work, or pressure to mask who they are. Navigating identity in an environment where safety isn’t guaranteed creates chronic stress and vulnerability. The fear of being misunderstood—or worse, harmed—is real. Being true to yourself shouldn’t come at the cost of your mental health. The challenges you’ve faced aren’t just personal—they’re systemic. Your identity is valid. Your experience is worthy of care and understanding.
Professional Athletes
From the outside, your life looks extraordinary—fame, performance, peak physical ability. But the pressure to always excel, to push past pain, and to live up to public expectations can become unbearable. Injuries, identity loss after retirement, financial uncertainty, and the silence around emotional health leave little space for vulnerability. You’re expected to be mentally unshakable. Yet beneath the discipline and success, you may be carrying immense psychological strain. Your struggle is not a contradiction of your strength. It’s part of the story no one talks about—and it matters.
Not Sure Where You Fit?
Maybe your story doesn’t match any one label. Maybe your pain is layered—part grief, part confusion, part something you can’t explain. You might not even know what’s wrong, just that something feels too heavy to carry alone. When your experience doesn’t fit into a clear box, it can be harder to speak up or seek help. But just because it’s complex or undefined doesn’t mean it’s not real. Your struggle is valid, even if it doesn’t have a name.