Death By Overdose

Kate – Trust and listening

Kate – explains how having someone you trust is super important so that you can have a space space to go to

Christian – Supporting people who may die

Christian talks about going from zero overdoses to 50 in a matter of months and how to help people who may die

Christian – Grieving the whole person

Christian talks about how we choose remember people when there has been a loss to drug poisoning

Kristal – Anger with Grief

Kristal discusses finding ways to channel her anger due to poor policy leading to deaths from drug poisoning and those individuals not having the support they needed. She discusses how human beings have the right to be flawed and should have the ability to grow, heal, and change.

Christian – COVID amplified the inequities in society

Christian talks about those that have very little and how COVID amplified their difficulties

Krista – “How I dealt with it”

Krista talks about how she dealt with underlying issues. Krista continues to grieve the death of her son from opioid overdose.

Kristal – Professional Experience and Work

Kristal discusses being a peer support woker, working on a one on one level with community members to help them with their goals related to substance abuse. She supports those in the community dealing with loss and grief. She speaks to everyone’s experience with loss and grief being very individual.

Krista – “My wish”

Krista discusses why she thinks helping others is important. Krista continues to grieve the death of her son from opioid overdose.

The Reflection Room® project: How storytelling supports processing grief

The Reflection Room project is an evidence-based participatory art installation that was developed by researchers at the SE Research Centre and Memorial University in 2016. The project included a research component that evaluated the impact of Reflection Rooms as the project adapted over time to address changing needs.

Kristal – Attending Memorials as a Support Worker

Kristal discusses the importance of finding ways to honour people that have been lost and how they have impacted you. She speaks to how she often chooses not to attend public memorials for those she has lost as a support worker as they are often very overwhelming. Instead, she has her own personal rituals or ways of honouring those she has lost personally including opening a window. She discusses how this practice was used when she worked in palliative care.

Christian – “Stigma of opioid death”

Christian talks about the social acceptance of an opioid overdose.

Kate – COVID and grieving with my parents

Kate shares about how COVID was stress on top of dealing with the loss of her brother