Supporting Others

Helping Others Help You Through Grief

Post by Maureen Pollard, MSW, RSW When you’ve experienced the death of a loved one, one of the most difficult things you will go through is trying to find out what helps you adjust to the loss. This can be compounded when others around you don’t understand what you’re going through, and don’t know how…

Matt – Telling my young son

Matt describes the death of his birth mother to his young son.

Kate – Advice to my younger self

Kate explains things being authentic and honest to herself has been very valuable

Keith – “Knowing what to say”

Keith gives practical advice about helping someone in grief.

John – What I have learned

John explains how he has changed since his wife died and now looking back what he would say to his self right after his loss

Shannon – Power of Presence

Shannon discusses how just showing up, being present is a powerful way of supporting to someone who has lost. Listen more – talk less.

Lisa – How to support someone in grief

Lisa shares what was helpful from other people when she was grieving

John Martin Understanding Grief part 3

John Martin Understanding Grief part 3

John talks about grief work and things you need to go through to come out the other side

Grief and Parenting in the Disability Community

In this blog post, Carrie writes about being the parent and primary caregiver to a child with disabilities and grieving the loss of a child dying from their disabilities.

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.

Karyn and Aidan – Support.

Karyn and Aidan discuss how much the support they received helped

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?”