KITCHENER – COVID-19 has resulted in more than a year of losses, and grief is what many people are feeling right now.
Whether they have experienced the death of someone they know, are mourning the loss of a job, social connection or the usual routines of daily life, grief is having an impact on people’s lives.
“There is a common misperception that you can only grieve if someone dies,” says Melina Pearson, outreach coordinator at Bereaved Families of Ontario – Midwestern Region (BFO-MR). “The truth is grief is a natural and normal response to any type of loss.”
With its upcoming education session Grief During a Pandemic BFO-MR will acknowledge the varied and complex losses people may be experiencing during COVID-19.
The session will also address the stigma associated with COVID-related deaths and how it is impacting individuals’ grief journeys.
Two virtual sessions are being offered:
– Tuesday May 25, 7pm to 8pm, in partnership with Idea Exchange.
– Thursday June 17, 7pm to 8pm, in partnership with the Kitchener Public Library.
To register for the sessions, go to bfomidwest.org.
“Our hope with these sessions is that we can encourage a greater understanding of grief and that we can validate what people might be experiencing right now. It’s completely normal and they’re not alone,” says Pearson.
This year marks BFO-MR’s 25th anniversary providing peer grief support in Waterloo Region and Guelph and Wellington County.
BFO-MR currently offers support groups for Parents Grieving the Death of an Infant, Parents Grieving the Death of a Child and Healing Little Hearts.
BFO-MR also offers Good Grief, a support group for teens coping with grief launched this year, Living with Loss, a mixed-loss support group, and Living with Loss for adults grieving a death by substance use.
All programming and education initiatives are being offered virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic and all services are free-of-charge.
For information about programs, grief education and memorial events, visit www.bfomidwest.org.
