I Am A Griever

Quiet Hope: Healing as a Nurse, Mourning as a Mom

By: Yhaimar Barile I’m a nurse. I’m a writer. And I’m a mom who lost her son. Last year, shortly before his eighteenth birthday, my son Gabriel died unexpectedly. Everything changed after that. Life split into a clear “before” and “after.” The world around me kept moving, but mine stopped. Nothing looked or felt the…

Kristal – Activism To Ease Anger and Grief

Kristal discusses using activism to help ease or channel her anger from the loss of those in her community to drug poisoning. She talks about her grief being very quiet and inward before, but that taking action helps her to move through it. She discusses how there may not be peace from these losses, but the goal should rather be feeling safe in the emotions.

Joyce -The pandemics impact on drug poisonings

Joyce talks about drug poisonings during the pandemic

Joyce – Your other children

Joyce discusses how her daughter dealt helped her as well as dealing with the loss of her brother.

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.

Angie – Cumulative grief, cumulative trauma

Angie discusses the challenges of policing and how trauma and grief can accumulate

Grief & Drug Poisoning Toolkit [Free Downloadable PDF]

  Navigating life, death, and loss can be overwhelming. This toolkit is designed by mental health professionals and contains information about grief, different types of grief we may experience, gentle reminders on how to move through grief, as well as tips for those who may be supporting someone in their life who is grieving. This…

Nicole – Using Art and Creativity to Express Grief

Nicole discusses the work she does to allow access to creative outlets such as art hives and gardening.

Community Grief Toolkit [Downloadable!]

This toolkit also reflects on how we support grief in the community. The tools to come together and honour our collective experiences and how to build the resources for further support.

Jessica M – Continuing Bonds

Jessica talks about the values of continuing bonds and connections with people who are not here anymore. She gives some examples of things that have made her more connected to her Mom.

Keeping Records

I pulled the photos out of their envelope one at a time, turning over each one to carefully record the date, place, and people in the photo. Sometimes, I included comments. “Apple picking in Hamilton with Pop Pop, Fall, 2023. You loved the wagon ride!”. I slipped each picture into an empty pocket in my son’s photo album.

John – Empower yourself

John shares his thoughts about how to support someone in grief and his processes