Death By Overdose

Kate – Getting support

Kate talks about how difficult it is to ask for support

Sarah K – Finding my people

Sarah talks about how finding other people that are going through the same grief experience has been very helpful to her.

Sarah K – Coping

Sarah discusses how she copes with this unbelievably painful loss

Kristal – Story of Lived Experience

Kristal discusses experiencing homelessness at multiple stages of her life and how that informs her work as a peer support worker. It gives her an understanding of the nuance that surrounds the community. She uses this experience to support people who are experiencing grief related to death from drug poisoning.

Kate – Stigma

Kate discusses how difficult the stigma is to deal with

Kristal – The Value of all Those Lost

Kristal emphasizes that the lives of those lost to drug poisoning had value, they were an opportunity that was lost, and that the community is missing so much in their absence.

Sarah K – Complicated feelings

Sarah discusses the complicated emotions after her husband’s death like feeling sad, distraught, overwhelmed , relieved and guilty

Sarah K – Therapy helps

Sarah talks about how grief and trauma therapy has helped her in grief for her husbands death and how much trauma she was experiencing from his substance use disorders and entail health challenges

Sarah K – Trauma therapy

Sarah explains how she felt broken after her husband’s death to overdose and how grief therapy helped her untangle all the feelings that came from such an unexpected death

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?”

Kate – Triggers

Kate discusses how she deals with her emotions when something triggers her grief

Sarah K – Grieving in isolation

Sarah discusses isolation, being in grief during the pandemic and the importance of keeping connected