Bereavement Professionals’ Insights

Maureen – Holiday kindness and grief

Maureen discusses grieving during the holidays and being lifter up by kindness

A Million Other Things: Grieving a Drug Poisoning Death

Sister, father, son, niece, best friend – some of these words might be how you would describe your loved one who has died of an overdose or drug poisoning. People Who Use Drugs (PWUD) are not defined by their substance use – they are a million other things to those who love and miss them dearly. Drug poisoning and overdose deaths are stigmatized in our society. The focus is on how the person died, not who they are. Society still holds onto old notions and beliefs about drugs which come with a value judgment about people who use drugs, which further contributes to stigma. Not everyone who uses drugs is an addict and not all drug use is inherently problematic. People who use drugs deserve dignity and respect when we are remembering and honouring those who have died by overdose or drug poisoning.

Maureen – “Unresolved conflicts”

Maureen shares about her Dad, anger, love and some tools to manage unresolved conflicts.

Ripples of Grief: Supporting Ourselves, Others, and our Communities After a Death

By Jessica Milette, MSW, RSW When death knocks on the door of a community, each of us are impacted. Sometimes a death will touch many lives across a community, whether people knew the deceased personally or not. We may grieve the death of a family member, friend, or acquaintance, a well-known community member, or someone…

Caileigh – Parent Capacity

Caileigh discusses parent capacity and and how to support their child through their grief is all about inspiring them and empowering them so that they can help their child.

Jean – Helping your children through grief

Jean discusses how helping her children through grief also helped her

Rev. Sky – “Helping a friend”

Rev. Sky discusses the grief motto 80% listening, 20% talking and how to help someone in grief.

Jacqueline – Humour

Jacqueline talks about how huour has a place in grieving

Janice – “The importance of listening”

Janice explains the importance of not being judgemental and listening when helping someone is in grief.

Cara – Intellectual disabilities, sharing and expressing about grief

Cara discusses how it’s very important that people living with intellectual disabilities have the opportunity to not only know about the information about the person being ill and dying and having the choice and opportunity to go to after death rituals. It’s also really important that they get the opportunity to share their story in whatever way they communicate. This can be verbally through sign language, through communication books, art, music, going for walks, being in nature

Jenn – Art can be grounding and meditative

Jenn explains how the textures , qualities and colours of art can be grounding and meditative

Michele – Expressive arts and healing grief

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