b'Support Personnel Support personnel are responsible for providing resources and support to employees, such as counseling or connecting with employee assistance programs. These personnel can also be responsible for identifying individual employees who may need additional support and providing them with the necessary resources. Communications Lead The communications lead is responsible for communicating with staff, including coordinating what will becommunicated and how the messages will be communicated (e.g., email, team meeting). This person is responsible for coordinating with legal and for ensuring all communications are sensitive, respectful, and safe. Additionally, the communications lead should appoint someone to monitor social media and coordinate with the IT team, as needed.External SupportCRT members should remain mindful of their own limitations and consider bringing in crisis team members fromthe community, such as the employee assistance program (EAP) (if applicable), and/or staff from local mental health centers to help them as needed. Crisis team members may also be impacted by the death, therefore, it is important that they feel prepared to serve in this capacity. In especially complicated situations, workplaces may even consider bringing in local or national experts in suicide postvention for consultation and assistance. To find trained clinicians and mental health professionals, see Appendix A: Additional Resources. Training and SupportIdeally, all CRT members should receive basic information about grief support, trauma response, and suicidepostvention as well as how to address cultural diversity. This training can help the team respond effectively and compassionately to a crisis. They are also responsible for updating the team on best practices for suicide postvention and crisis response and ensuring that the training is updated. It is also recommended that members of the CRT have access to counseling and/or EAP services, both in the immediate aftermath of the suicide and several months later. There are many ripple effects of suicide deaths. As such, additional support should be directed toward those serving on the CRT.Addressing Cultural DiversityIt is important for all postvention efforts to include the cultural diversity of those affected by the death. This may include, but is not limited to, differences in race, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation or gender identity, religion, and disability. Culure may significantly affect the way people view and respond to suicide and death, as well as grieve. Its important to be mindful that the extent to which people are comfortable talking about suicide varies. Therefore, it is important to be sensitive to the beliefs and customs regarding the decedents family and community and how they respond to the death, and to understand potential perceptions regarding individuals outside the family or community intervening to provide support. Cultural beliefs may also inform employee responses to suicide in the workplace.It is also important to acknowledge that ones own views about suicide and death are informed by cultural experiences. Cultural norms may exist regarding how comfortable one is sharing their own lived experience of suicide or suicide grief. Some may not wish to share their reactions. This is also true regarding the family ofthe deceased, who may have requests for privacy or not wish to communicate with the workplace regarding the suicide death. In these instances, it is appropriate for resources to be made available while also recognizingthat some employees may seek alternate forms of support or choose not to share with the workplace about howAfter A Suicide | Postvention Toolkit For Workplaces 3'