KITCHENER – No two people experience the same way, Bereaved Families of Ontario say.
The Bereaved Families of Ontario’s – midwestern region division is accepting registrations for its springgrief support programs, as well as its training program for volunteer facilitators.
“We offer peer support groups for adults, children and teens who are grieving a death,” executive director Jaime Bickerton stated in a press release.
“Our groups are spaces for folks who are grieving to share thoughts, feelings, strategies and stories with others who have a shared experience,” Bickerton added.
Bereaved Families of Ontario (BFO) is accepting program registrations for:
– parents grieving the death of an infant or pregnancy loss (April 19 to June 7 from 7 to 9pm – register by April 7);
– parents grieving the death of a child, including adult children (April 4 to May 30 from 7 to 9pm – register by March 24); and
– “Good Grief,” for teens ages 13 to 17 with the goal of helping them learn about grief and how to cope with death (May 9 to June 13 from 6 to 7:30pm – register by April 9).
Registration and an intake meeting with a program coordinator is required to attend, and all programs are free. All programs take place in Kitchener.
BFO also accepts registrations on an ongoing basis for its monthly mixed loss group “Living with Loss,” for adults grieving the death of anyone in their lives and “Living with Loss by Substance Use” for adults grieving a death by drugs or alcohol. Both programs are led by trained peer support volunteers.
Volunteers needed
The organization is also “experiencing an urgent need for volunteer facilitators” for both living with loss programs, according to Bickerton.
“If these groups are to continue, we need to expand our roster of volunteers so we can evolve and grow with the changes needs of the community,” he stated.
The BFO training program is accepting applications from individuals with the broad range of lived experiences and training takes place May 24 from 6:30 to 8:30pm (virtually) and May 27 (in-person) from 9am to 4pm.
More information can be found by visiting: bfomidwest.org.
