Supporting Others

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.

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.

John – The power of journaling

John shares how journaling has helped him so much

Matt – Telling my young son

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

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.

John Martin – Understanding Grief part 2

John talks about permission to grieve

Michele – Talks about being a death doula

Michele explains what death doula’s do. Doula means servant. They support people on many different levels… for instance, emotionally, spiritually and physically

John Martin – Loss and Grief- Make Sure You Hear Their Story

John about the importance of hearing a griever

Jim – Helping by listening

Jim – ” I talk about how to be a good listener to someone who is grieving. I believe that one of the most important things you can do for someone who is grieving is to simply listen. Don’t try to fix their problems or offer advice. Just listen and be there for them. It can be as simple as meeting for coffee or taking a walk together. You’re doing more help than you realize when you simply listen to someone.

John Martin – The Trauma of Loss and Grief

John discusses trauma and grief

John – Support over time

John discusses how support changes over time

Jim – When should you seek help

Jim talks about when you should seek help for mental health. How it can be difficult to ask for help, especially for men and for people in certain professions, such as law enforcement and the military. But if you are struggling, it is important to reach out for support