Death and Grief During a Pandemic

Zoreena – Ask for help

Zoreena explains how important it is to ask for help

Lynda – “It’s complicated during a pandemic”

Lynda talks about how things are so much more complicated in these times

Karyn and Aidan – Our story 2

Karyn and Aidan – Aidan tells the story leading up to John’s death during the pandemic

Andrea – Grieving during a pandemic

Andrea discusses the challenges of grieving during a pandemic

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.

Christian – Grieving those who died of drug poisoning

Christian talks about grieving, stigma and dying from drug poisoning

Maureen – End stages during a pandemic

Maureen talks about the end stages of her father-in-law during the pandemic.

KIm – Planning a funeral in the pandemic

Kim explains the ups and downs of planning a funeral during the pandemic

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?”

Maureen – “Not being able to be with your loved one”

Maureen discusses ideas of how you can honour a loved now until it is safe to come together.

Lynda – “Helping a griever during the pandemic”

Lynda shares tips on helping someone in grief

Learning from Grief

Grief is weird. Odd start, I know, but that was the sentence I used a lot whenever someone asked me how I was. It was never a constant feeling; it changed day to day. And still does. It’s the full gambit of emotions from sadness to anger to guilt and, though dark, even humour found its way in.