Death By Overdose

Kristal – The Value of all Those Lost

Kristal emphasizes that the lives of those lost to drug poisoning had value, they were an opportunity that was lost, and that the community is missing so much in their absence.

Kate – Triggers

Kate discusses how she deals with her emotions when something triggers her grief

Krista – “Crying”

Krista talks about how crying helps her. Krista continues to grieve the death of her son from opioid overdose.

Sarah K – Humour to cope

Sarah discuss how humour has been a tool in helping her to cope

Kristal – Grieving the Whole Person

Kristal discusses the importance of recognizing and grieving the entire person who was lost – not just who they were before they had been using drugs.

Krista – “Dealing with it”

Krista tells about the differences people have in dealing with it. Krista continues to grieve the death of her son from opioid overdose.

Collective Grief

When the death of a person affects many members in a community, city, country, or across the world, people will experience collective grief.

These are some things that can help people through the experience of collective grief across a community.

Sarah K – Therapy helps

Sarah talks about how grief and trauma therapy has helped her in grief for her husbands death and how much trauma she was experiencing from his substance use disorders and entail health challenges

Beauty found at the edges: a portrait of community support

I’d sent a text saying “Hello friends, I’m putting out a call for flowers. I went to public school with Kory, the young man who died in downtown Cobourg this week, and though I hadn’t seen him in recent years, I feel the loss of him on a community level, as I imagine you do, too. Some of Kory’s people are gathering tonight in vigil at the bank where he died, and I’m gathering flowers from those of us who have gardens to share with this grieving community. Do you have some blooms in your garden that you’d be willing to share?”

Sarah K – Trauma therapy

Sarah explains how she felt broken after her husband’s death to overdose and how grief therapy helped her untangle all the feelings that came from such an unexpected death

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.

Krista – “How a counsellor helps”

Krista explains how a grief counsellor has helped.