Short answer
Call 911 if you have not already, and follow what the responders tell you. Once police and the medical examiner leave, close the affected room and keep children and pets away. Do not try to clean anything yourself. Ask someone you trust to handle the calls. Reach out for support, including the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, for yourself and others.
If you have just found someone
If you have not already, call 911. The dispatcher will guide you through what to do and send help. If there is any chance the person is alive, follow the dispatcher's instructions. Otherwise, you do not need to stay in the room. It is okay to step outside, sit down and wait for responders somewhere you feel safer.
Police and emergency medical workers will arrive. In most places a medical examiner or coroner will also be involved. They will speak with you, record what they find and arrange for your loved one to be moved with care. You may be asked a few questions. Answer what you can. It is fine to say you need a moment.
If other people are in the home, especially children, ask a responder or neighbor to help move them to another room or another house.
Who should I call for support right now?
Call someone who can come and be with you. It might be a relative, close friend, neighbor or faith leader. You should not have to sit alone with this. Let that person help with calls, answer the door and look after practical details while you focus on breathing and staying safe.
If you or anyone else in the home is overwhelmed, in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Help is there at any hour. KFF's 2025 analysis of 988 data found that about 91% of 988 calls, texts and chats were answered nationally as of May 2025, versus a 30% disconnection rate before the 988 launch. Reaching out is worth it, even if you are not sure what to say.
When cleanup can begin
Cleanup starts only after police and the medical examiner or coroner have finished and released the home. In many cases this happens the same day. It depends on what happened and on how your local medical examiner or coroner's office works. Ask a responder how you will know the home is released and whom to call if you have questions.
Once the home is released, no rule says you must start right away. If family members need to stay in the home, prompt cleanup may be important. If not, it is okay to take a night to rest before you make decisions. A trusted person can call cleanup companies for you the next morning.
Cleanup companies you did not call may contact you, sometimes quite soon. You do not have to hire them. You can say that a family member will be in touch if needed. Then choose a company in your own time, with the help of someone you trust.
Protecting the space until professionals arrive
The goal is simply to keep the area closed and untouched. Close the door to the affected room if you can do so without going inside. Visitors, pets and little ones should stay out. If there is no door, a sheet or a piece of furniture can block the view and the path.
Please do not try to clean anything yourself. It can be emotionally devastating. Without training and protective gear, it can also expose you to germs that spread through blood. Soft or absorbent items like carpet, bedding and upholstery need special handling. Trying to clean them usually spreads the mess further.
If there is something you urgently need from the room, such as medication or a phone, ask the cleanup crew to get it and clean it for you first.
- Close the door or block the view of the affected area
- Keep children and pets in another part of the home or somewhere else
- Do not wipe, scrub or move items in the affected area
- Ask the crew to bring out any essential items safely
Should I stay in the home tonight?
That is entirely your choice. Some people want to be at home, surrounded by familiar things. Others cannot bear to be there. Both are understandable. If you stay, close off the affected area and think about asking someone to stay with you. If you leave, lock up and take essentials such as medication, identification, chargers and clothing.
If children live in the home, think about what will feel safest for them. A night or two with relatives, with familiar comfort items, can give everyone a little space while plans are made.
If you rent, you may want to tell the landlord or building manager that you will be away and that a professional crew will be coming. You do not have to share details. A short message is usually enough for now. You can say there has been a death in the home and that arrangements are underway.
Information a company will ask for
Your helper can gather these details before calling. The company needs practical information only. They should never ask you to describe what happened, and you can decline any question that feels too painful.
It can help to write these details in one note on your phone. Then whoever calls cleanup companies can simply read from it. That saves you from being asked the same questions again and again.
- The address and who will let the crew in
- Which room was affected and the type of flooring
- Whether a bed, chair or other furniture was involved
- When the authorities released the home
- Whether the home is rented, and the landlord's contact if so
- Any personal items your family especially wants back
- Your wishes about timing and privacy
One possible first day
The account below is fictional. It shows one way the first day can go. A young man returns home in the afternoon and finds that his roommate has died by suicide in their shared apartment. He calls 911 and waits outside with a neighbor until police arrive. He calls his older sister, who drives over.
Police and the medical examiner's staff finish in the early evening and tell him the apartment is released. His sister closes the bedroom door, packs a bag for him and takes him to her home. That night, she texts the roommate's parents, whom police have already notified, to offer help.
The next morning, the sister calls two cleanup companies. She shares only the room, the type of flooring and the release time. She asks each to recover any personal items for the roommate's parents. She also tells the landlord that a professional crew will be coming. Her brother talks with a counselor through 988 that afternoon. He later says it helped him sleep.
How can I help children who were affected?
Children notice more than adults expect. They often sense that something serious has happened even when no one explains it. Experts in grief generally encourage honest, simple words that fit the child's age, without details about how the person died. A pediatrician, school counselor or grief counselor can help you find words that fit your child's age.
Keep routines as steady as you can, even in small ways, such as regular meals and a familiar bedtime. Let children ask questions. It is okay to say that you do not know the answer. A child or teenager may seem withdrawn or frightened, or may talk about wanting to be with the person who died. If so, reach out to a professional right away, and remember that 988 is available for young people too.
Others who may be struggling
Others in your household or close circle may also be struggling. These include roommates, partners, friends who were on the phone with the person recently and the person who found them. Check in with each of them directly. Sometimes the people who seem to be coping best are carrying the most.
Workplaces, schools and faith communities often have resources for people affected by a suicide. Tell a trusted contact at each place what happened, with as much or as little detail as you choose. That can open the door to support you may not have known existed.
The days ahead
Tell your insurer and, if the home is rented, the landlord what happened and that a professional crew is being arranged. Keep notes of whom you spoke with and when. Choose one person to handle the calls, so grieving family members are not answering the same questions over and over.
Grief after suicide can include shock, guilt, anger, numbness and deep sadness, sometimes all in the same hour. There is no correct way to feel. Groups for suicide loss survivors, grief counselors and faith communities can offer understanding over the weeks and months to come. Please keep 988 close at hand for yourself and those around you.
