Supporting Others

Valmy – Checking in on someone is good

Valmy explains how helpful it is to check in on someone who is grieving

Tending to My Garden of Grief

So long as I remember the lives of those I have lost, honour their presence and impact on me and celebrate their spirit, they will continue to live with me and the pain will feel bearable. It will no longer stop me in my tracks. Instead, it will encourage me and propel me forward through the transmutation of that grief into something different, something more nuanced and fluid. I’d like to share a practice for processing grief which I have found to be especially helpful.

Laura- What Might Help in Grief

Antoinetta – Things that help when struggling

Antoinetta talks about the first time she learned that it was ok that she was grieving and how to unpack all her feelings

Alongside

That is also our best, and only role, when supporting a person with a developmental disability to grieve. We must be the one that comes alongside. There is no closer place we can get to. We must be present, be with, perhaps not understanding or comprehending what the person we support is experiencing, but alongside them nonetheless. We must be there, ready to provide whatever we can discover of their unique need in grief.

The ties that bind; grieving the loss of a sibling

When my three brothers and I were growing up and the proverbial hit the fan, Mum would often say, in a bid to keep her brood calm, ‘Well, at least we are all still here.’ She reminded me of this affectionate saying only very recently. I can still recall how I felt as a child…

Joyce – Using my grief experience to help people

Joyce talks about the positive experiences she has in helping other people in grief

Amber – Talking to your kids about death

Amber talks about how important it is to talk about grief, especially with kids

Ghosts From The Past

I met Holly riding the bus in our community. She is very attractive with a winsome smile and piercing eyes that I would trade anything for. She was also the bus driver. At that time Holly went to school to become a nurse. After becoming a nurse, Holly didn’t drive the bus that much, but one of her fellow bus drivers mentioned to me that one of Holly’s patients had died and it had a negative impact on her. It brought back ghosts from my past as I also had a job in which people died which had a negative impact on me.

Teresa – Understanding people with intellectual disabilities and grief

Teresa shares an example and discusses the importance of truly understanding people with intellectual disabilities when they are telling us their stories

Betsy – You can’t know until you know

Betsy talks about support and what really helps when one is in grief

Rev. Sky – “Helping a friend”

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