Community Grief

Community Grief (also known as Collective Grief) is when a group of people experience a death or loss that impacts them communally and broadly. Community grief can be experienced at our local community level, as a region, as a country, or we can be impacted as a global community.

Community grief can occur after a community has experienced a death of a well known member of their community, following natural disasters, accidents such as the Humboldt bus accident, or mass loss of lives such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

We do not need to know the person individually to experience community grief. We experience community grief because we feel a connection to the person(s) who have died. They may have been a community member who was part of our daily commute for years, a celebrity whose story resonates with you, or we may grieve for those closely impacted who are grieving their loved ones.

We never have to be alone in our grief, and gathering in community can be one way to honour our grief as a community. On this page you will find videos of community members talking about their experiences of community grief.

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Municipality of Port Hope

We are thankful for the Community Grant funding through the Municipality of Port Hope.

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Community Grief-Related Blog

Community Grief Toolkit [Downloadable!]

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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.

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Community Grief-Related Videos

ALL PANDEMIC VIDEOS
  • ALL PANDEMIC VIDEOS

Nicole – Power of Speaking About Lost Ones

Nicole – Power of Speaking About Lost Ones

Nicole discusses the importance of sharing memories of those lost to drug poisoning and speaking their names.

Nicole – Pandemic’s Effect on Safe Spaces and Mental Health Access

Nicole – Pandemic’s Effect on Safe Spaces and Mental Health Access

Nicole discusses how the pandemic affected access to safe spaces and shelters for those living rough and living with addiction.

Nicole – Pandemic’s Effect on Grieving as a Community

Nicole – Pandemic’s Effect on Grieving as a Community

Nicole discusses the ways the pandemic has affected the way people grieve as a community.

Michele – Normalizing conversations around death dying grief and loss

Michele – Normalizing conversations around death dying grief and loss

Michele discusses grief literacy, the importance of talking and that dying is a part of life

Nicole – Pandemic Leads to Increase in Drug Poisoning

Nicole – Pandemic Leads to Increase in Drug Poisoning

Nicole discusses the increase in drug poisonings during the pandemic due to a number of factors.

Jacqueline – How to help a grieving friend

Jacqueline – How to help a grieving friend

Jacqueline discusses the power of just being there with someone in grief

Nicole – Advice for Other Professionals Managing Grief

Nicole – Advice for Other Professionals Managing Grief

Nicole discusses dealing with repeated loss while working in community outreach, not being afraid to be human.

Keith – “Disenfranchised Grief”

Keith – “Disenfranchised Grief”

Keith describes disenfranchised grief.

Sarah K – Supporting someone in grief

Sarah K – Supporting someone in grief

Sarah gives her thoughts on how many things there are you can do to support someone in grief and how to be proactive

Kristal – Drug Poisoning During Pandemic Stigma

Kristal – Drug Poisoning During Pandemic Stigma

Kristal discusses how the pandemic has created additional stigma surrounding those who use drugs. She discusses how it seems like some losses are treated as more deserving of being mourned than others. Many people have had to grieve privately instead of publically within a community. She touches on the state of the public health system during the pandemic.