Hospice Northwest hosting Grief Café

TERRACE BAY — Are you, a loved one, or someone you know dealing with the grief of losing someone?

The Grief Café is being offered to help people learn how grief effects their physical and mental health, how to develop coping strategies, and what services and supports are available to those contending with grief.

The café is set for Feb. 1 and will be held in the boardroom at McCausland Hospital from 1-3 pm.

There is no registration required, which Teresa Roberts said is one way to make people feel welcome.

“It’s a drop-in for anyone who is suffering from the loss of a loved one, be it last year or three years ago – it doesn’t really matter. Some people have grief that is ongoing. It’s an opportunity for them to come in and be with people who are like them and share their grief journeys and stories,” said Roberts, Hospice Northwest’s regional coordinator.

She added that Hospice Northwest provides each Grief Café session with a professional who hosts and facilitates the meeting – usually an RN or a social worker with grief training.

The professional is then joined by volunteers.

“We also support the professional with our grief-trained volunteers in the region,” Roberts said.

Grief-trained volunteers are individuals who have undergone regular volunteer training in addition to training related specifically to addressing grief and grief-stricken people.

During Grief Café meetings, grief-trained volunteers help support those in attendance by asking questions and opening lines of communication so people can share their grief journeys.

“The interaction between the people in the group makes for a very worthwhile conversation,” Roberts said.

Each town that hosts a Grief Café is also equipped with four grief-trained volunteers.

The first Grief Café was held in Marathon just before Christmas in partnership with the Marathon Family Health Team.

Roberts said it was a “huge success.”

“Shelley Heavens was our professional, she’s a social worker. We had four wonderful grief-trained volunteers who showed up and we had 14 people attend,” she said.

Since the meeting in Marathon was a success, they’re continuing meetings on a monthly basis for the next three months.

Roberts said while the Grief Café is new, the town of Nipigon has been hosting a Caring Café – facilitated by registered nurse Judy Harvey – which took a brief hiatus but will be starting up again shortly. She said it operates similarly to the Grief Café.

Hospice Northwest is also planning to host Grief Cafés in Manitouwadge and Geraldton.

Roberts said sometimes a group setting is what works best for this kind of support.

“I think sometimes people are more apt to come out and tell their stories in a group. It’s the comfort level – to see that people have the same issues they do and they want to share their grief journeys. It’s been working out really well and we’re crossing our fingers it continues to go well,” she said.

She added that Hospice Northwest is always looking for volunteers and implored anyone who feels drawn to the idea of becoming a volunteer to give her a call.

Those who are interested – either to take part in the Grief Café but have questions or want to learn how to volunteer – are asked to call Roberts at (807) 626-5570 ext. 5577.