I Am A Griever

Scott – Music that can transport you somewhere else

Scott explains his thoughts about the emotional connection of music and how it can transport you

Lyss – Music

Lyss remembers playing music for her mother as she was dying and how music has helped with feelings

John – Support over time

John discusses how support changes over time

Scott – Lyrics

Scott – Talks about how a friend in grief helped with the lyrics of “So far away”.Find the song at his website www.dotbmusic.ca

Caileigh – Recommendations as a therapist and a griever

Caileigh discussed two recommendations for parents on how to support their child’s grief. as a therapist and a griever. The first is to recognize that being with is far more important than fixing. There’s two pieces to connection. The first being that one of the most important healing aspects to grief is feeling connected to others.

Adam – Crying and singing

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Adam talks about how crying and singing helps him cope even at the cemetary

Jim – Grief and policing

Jim – ” I believe that policing is a profession that is constantly filled with loss. Whether it is losing a partner, a friend, or a loved one, police officers are always dealing with the pain of loss. I also talk about my own personal experience with grief, and how I have learned to cope with it. I hope that this video will help other police officers who are struggling with grief.”

Betsy – You can’t know until you know

Betsy talks about support and what really helps when one is in grief

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.

Lyss – Seasonal Reminders

Lyss seasonal reminders and her mother dying at New Years

Kate – Time to process

Kate shares about time and processing her grief especially during COVID

A Million Other Things: Grieving a Drug Poisoning Death

Sister, father, son, niece, best friend – some of these words might be how you would describe your loved one who has died of an overdose or drug poisoning. People Who Use Drugs (PWUD) are not defined by their substance use – they are a million other things to those who love and miss them dearly. Drug poisoning and overdose deaths are stigmatized in our society. The focus is on how the person died, not who they are. Society still holds onto old notions and beliefs about drugs which come with a value judgment about people who use drugs, which further contributes to stigma. Not everyone who uses drugs is an addict and not all drug use is inherently problematic. People who use drugs deserve dignity and respect when we are remembering and honouring those who have died by overdose or drug poisoning.