Bereavement Professionals’ Insights

Cara – Intellectual disabilities and advance planning

Cara explains that people living with intellectual disabilities are growing to older ages, much like the rest of the population. And as folks are aging what we’re seeing is the need for families more so than ever, to do some advanced planning for who will take over any caregiving decision making or where that person may live, what sort of support they may need and what that’s going to look like after the parents or the guardians die so that this doesn’t become a crisis situation.

Rev. Sky – “Youth alert”

Rev. Sky talks about youth and when it’s time to reach out for support.

Jean – Traditions and grief

Jean discusses belief systems and traditions

Adrianna – Metabolizing grief

Adrianna explains metabolizing grief and grief literacy training

Keith – “How can you help”

Keith explains that by imagining being in someone’s position can show you practical ways of helping them.

Michele – Advice to younger grieving self

Michele tells what advice she would give to her younger grieving self

Jenn – In grief an art therapist can be there to walk with you

Jenn discusses how an art therapists can support you in those moments of pain. They are there to honour your stories and experiences.

Janice – “Grief is a response to loss”

Janice discusses waves of grief and how important it is to go with it.

Shannon – Losing is a life skill

Shannon shares about losing her husband to suicide, her parents and her father-in-law. She felt broken and to be able to take care of her kids and her self seemed overwhelming. It took someone telling her that you can heal from trauma to give her hope for healing.

Maureen – “Our 20th Anniversary”

Maureen talks about she dealt with her miscarriages and how she felt after 20 years.

Rev. Sky – “Feeling numb”

Rev. Sky discusses how feeling numb is a normal emotion and what you need to move forward.

Sara – Lyrics

Sara talks about how lyrics can have an impact on how we experience music