About Jack Klingert

Jack Klingert is a suicide loss survivor and support group facilitator from New Jersey. In April 2009, his son John died by suicide at the age of 17, shattering Jack‘s world and forever changing the direction of his life. Within two months of his loss, he found his way to a suicide loss support group and discovered what he had so desperately needed: others who truly understood this unique and devastating grief.

For more than fourteen years, Jack and his wife, Teri, have co-facilitated SOSMadison, one of the largest suicide loss support groups in New Jersey, regularly drawing 30 or more survivors to each meeting. He has completed AFSP’s Facilitating a Suicide Bereavement Support Group training and LivingWorks ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training). Jack is also a volunteer with AFSP’s Healing Conversations program, walking alongside newly bereaved families one-on-one.

Recognizing that facilitators themselves need community and support, Jack founded the Facebook group Suicide Loss Support Group Facilitators, which now connects more than 550 facilitators nationwide. He authors Sunflowers After Suicide, a blog offering compassionate guidance for suicide loss survivors on grief, healing, navigating the holidays, and finding hope after loss. Through his writing and facilitation work, Jack brings to others the same understanding and hope that once helped him find his own path forward.