Death and Grief During a Pandemic

Christian – COVID amplified the inequities in society

Christian talks about those that have very little and how COVID amplified their difficulties

Jane – Grief and meditation

Jane shares how she practices daily meditation and how that helps her manage her thoughts and feelings.

Tips for Grieving During the Holidays

The holidays can bring up a lot of feelings, especially when you’re grieving the loss of a loved one. Whether it’s the first holiday season without someone, the holidays mark a time where someone you love died, or it’s just hard to be around celebration when you’re not feeling celebratory, December can feel heavy.

These are a few tips for grieving during the holidays.

Jane – Remembering loved ones

Jane talks about some ways she remembers her grandparents since her passing and the comfort that brings her as she grieves for them.

Holly – Singing in the last days

Holly talks about her partner’s pancreatic cancer diagnosis, the pandemic, their decisions, faith and how singing

Jean – Grief resources and self care

Jean talks about resources that help in processing grief and self care

Jane – My Story

Jane shares her story about losing two of her grandparents just before the pandemic and the ways the pandemic has impacted her ability to process grief.

Michele – Normalizing conversations around death dying grief and loss

Michele discusses grief literacy, the importance of talking and that dying is a part of life

Sunny- Grieving Different Losses

Karyn and Aidan – Support from others

Karyn and Aidan discuss how family, friends, and people they didn’t know in the community supported them.Talking, meals, dog walking are among the things that made a huge difference.

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.

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?”