Hope in Hard Times — A Plan for Suicide Prevention

Guidance and support for navigating life’s darkest moments. To honor Suicide Prevention Awareness Month, I’m sharing free resources to allow every person to create a Safety & Soothing Plan.

Hope in Hard Times — A Plan for Suicide Prevention

There are moments in life when the world can feel unbearably dark. In those moments, hope can be hard to find, and the mind may begin creatively searching for a way out — for some, thoughts of suicide may arise.

In 2024, more than 14 million U.S. adults seriously considered suicide, with 4.6 million making a plan and 2.2 million attempting. This reality is especially concerning for women, who are more likely than men to experience suicidal thoughts and attempts. At the same time, women also hold powerful protective factors: they are more likely to talk about their struggles, seek support, and use coping strategies that can prevent suicide.

Because of this, it’s vital that we continue to build spaces of empowerment, connection, and care.

September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month.

To honor this month, I am offering you a free tool and course designed to help every person create a Safety & Soothing Plan. This plan is a personalized resource you can turn to during overwhelming moments — a reminder that every feeling passes, no matter how heavy it feels.

Together, we can weather life’s storms and remind one another: you are never alone.

Take exceptional care of yourself,

Sarah


Download Your Free Safety & Soothing Plan

📥 [Download the Safety & Soothing Plan here]

This resource is free to download, copy, and share. Please pass it along to clients, friends, family, and community members — because every human deserves a plan to care for themselves in difficult moments.


A Space to Weather the Storm

In this short video, Sarah introduces A Space to Weather the Storm, a free course that helps you create your own Safety & Soothing Plan.

Inside, you’ll find:

  • Education on how and why safety planning works
  • An expressive art experiential to access your inner wisdom
  • Wise Women’s Wisdom — inspiration and strategies from lived experience

Learn to navigate emotional crises, build resilience, and care for yourself — because every storm passes, and you don’t have to face it alone.

[Enroll in the course]



References & Resources

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Suicide. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health. Updated 2024. Available at: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide

Suicide Prevention Resource Center https://sprc.org/

Stanley, B., & Brown, G. K. (2012). Safety planning intervention: A brief intervention to mitigate suicide risk. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, 19(2), 256–264. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1077722911000630?via%3Dihub

If you are in immediate danger: Call 911

Call or text 988 in the U.S. to connect with the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

Text HELLO to 741741 for the Crisis Text Line



A Space for Wise Women

Web: aspaceforwisewomen.com
IWWW: wisdom.aspaceforwisewomen.com

FB: Sarah Coffman
FB: A Space for Wise Woman
IG: @a.space.for.wise.women and @aspaceforwisewomen

Linkedin: Sarah Coffman, MSW, LCSW, EXAT, REAT

This educational material is meant to be a companion to therapeutic work and not a substitute for therapy. If working with these materials triggers feelings, thoughts, images, or body sensations that overwhelm to the point of crisis or suicidal ideation, please immediately stop and call 988 (Suicide & Crisis Line).