I Am A Professional

Craig – There is No Right Way to Grieve

Craig talks about his experience with grief and how there is no right or wrong way to grieve. He shares his thoughts on how to allow yourself to do what you need to do to heal, even if it doesn’t seem like “self-care.” This video is a reminder that everyone grieves differently and that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to healing.

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…

Caileigh – My own grief and supporting others

Caileigh tells about her own grief and now it has given her a really powerful lens on how to support children going through grief as well. Along with her professional education and training, there is now a different perspective on grief and how that fits in with supporting others.

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.

Children’s Grief and Loss Toolkit (ages 6-12) [FREE Downloadable PDF]

Grief is a natural experience, and is considered one of the most stressful life events a person can experience. 1 in 14 children under the age of 18 will experience the death of someone close to them. Every year, approximately 200 000 children are grieving the death of someone in their extended family or community.…

Jessica M – Legacy

Jessica explains legacy and gives examples including her own.

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

Left Out: Enfranchising Children’s Grief and Loss

By: Jessica Milette, MSW, RSW All human beings have the capacity to grieve: people with intellectual disabilities, those living with a traumatic brain injury, and children of all ages. However, many people can experience disenfranchised grief when someone dies. Disenfranchised grief is generally grief that is not usually openly acknowledged, socially accepted or publicly mourned.…

Kristal – Lack of Memorials During Pandemic

Kristal talks about how memorials can offer closure to people who are grieving, find a community, and share stories. With the absence of this during the pandemic, many people turned inward to grieve or isolated, which can create safety issues and have an impact on mental health. She speaks to how this leads to depression, physical pain, and it compounds upon itself.

Caileigh – Through play children learn so much about their grief

Caileigh discussed how children learn so much about their grief through play. There’s less confusion, there’s less anxiety, there’s more awareness. For the child and the parent, there is more acceptance of grief.

Alongside

That is also our best, and only role, when supporting a person with a developmental disability to grieve. We must be the one that comes alongside. There is no closer place we can get to. We must be present, be with, perhaps not understanding or comprehending what the person we support is experiencing, but alongside them nonetheless. We must be there, ready to provide whatever we can discover of their unique need in grief.

Grief Literacy and Developmental Disability

Grief literacy has become a popular topic, yet it is a topic that is untapped within the disability community, specifically within the developmental sector. The sector supports and empowers people with a developmental disability and consists of families, their loved ones and service providers.