Bereavement Professionals’ Insights

Jessica M – It’s OK not to cry

Jessica discusses how grief is individual and finding the way forward can be different for everyone.

Sara – Music at the end of life

Sara talks about the values of music at the end of life

Michele – Advice to younger grieving self

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

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.

Amanda – “Hospice”

Amanda talks about the comfort zone in palliative care.

Michele – Expressive arts and healing grief

Michele defines expressive arts and how they can help healing in grief

Chantal – Grief and art therapy group

Chantal talks about the honour of being witness to other peoples story and exploration of grief and art therapy

Marija – Types of Loss in a Pandemic

Marija explains how all of the losses we experience during a pandemic are compounded

Rev. Sky – “What is a trigger”

Rev. Sky explains triggers, identifying them and what you need.

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.

Maureen – Holiday Traditions

Maureen talks about anticipating a holiday and considering honouring a loved one

Calls to Care, Calls to Action: Bearing Witness to Global Catastrophic Loss of Life and Traumatic Events

We bear witness to stories of mass loss of lives, stories of families in Gaza being forced from their land, loss of culture and traditions, and countless other ways systems of colonization and oppression can contribute to other non-death losses those who are directly affected currently and have historically faced. As we discussed in a previous article, we can also experience collective grief following natural disasters, accidents, international conflict, and acts of violence that have resulted in catastrophic loss of lives.