Purpose
Throughout the month of November, culminating on November 16, 2021, CHPCA promoted resources and tools to help Canadians throughout their grief journeys – for those dealing with grief, bereavement, anticipatory grief, ambiguous grief, and chronic sorrow.
As a society, we are so focused on prolonging life and curing illness that very little thought is given to what happens at the end of our journeys – including to those who are left behind. CHPCA would like to help bring this discussion to the forefront of Canadians’ minds, and allow time to grieve, to remember, and to heal. CHPCA wants to normalize the idea that grief and bereavement is a part of life and challenge Canadians to ask each other about their grief and to share their stories. We all handle bereavement and grief differently and helping Canadians understand that would go a long way to improving the ends of one’s life for dying Canadians, their family caregivers and other loved ones
Downloadable Resources
2021 Grief and Bereavement Day Poster
This downloadable PDF invites Canadians to share how they grieve.
"I Feel" Printable for Social Media
How do you feel when you grieve? Let us know with a picture or selfie via social media by printing and filling out this shareable! Don't forget to use the hashtags #Grief2021 #IFeel!
"I Feel" Interactive Twitter Shareable
How do you feel when you grieve? Fill out this shareable and let us know via Twitter using the hashtags #Grief2021 #IFeel!
"I Feel" Interactive Facebook Shareable
How do you feel when you grieve? Fill out this shareable and let us know via Facebook using the hashtags #Grief2021 #IFeel!
"I Feel" Interactive Facebook and Instagram Story Shareable
How do you feel when you grieve? Fill out this shareable and let us know via Facebook and Instagram story using the hashtags #Grief2021 #IFeel!
Grief and Bereavement Resources Repository
This repository of grief and bereavement resources is a collection of useful links and resources to help you and your loved ones cope with grief. Please note, this page will be updated on regular bases with new and other suggested resources. If you would like to add other resources to our repository, please contact [email protected] and we will update the repository with you suggested resource.
Grief and Bereavement Day Webinar
Grief is a very common emotion that everyone experiences (for example, through death, divorce, moving cities and homes, etc.), yet very few people can recognize or even label it. This is due to the idea that grief is considered a “taboo” topic and should be avoided in conversation. As a result, even fewer people know how to respond to and process grief—both their own and that of others.
As we come out of COVID-19, keeping conversations about death and grief “taboo” have broader societal implications than we may think. Join us for this webinar to explore what grief is, what can cause it, and how to best respond and process it.
This webinar is hosted by the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association in honour of National Grief and Bereavement Day.
Shine by Ambre McLean and the students from Smiths Falls Music
Shine
Written by Ambre McLean, Performed by Ambre McLean and students from Smith Falls Music
Excerpt about the song, from Ambre McLean
When I grieve, I feel like I’m in an impossible maze of emotions. The walls are too high for me to see over, the floor is rocky and uncertain, the sky is too dark to navigate by, and the exits keep changing. The eye of grief is not all-seeing. It is blind and numb and empty and lonely. The last thing I want to do is sing or play or even look at an instrument. So, for me, the creative process comes much later. It is the aftermath, almost the victory of making it out alive. I create as a way to gather up all the fractals and pieces of my broken self, and much like a puzzle, the creativity part is putting it all back together in a new way, to make up for the missing parts, and to make room for the new versions of self that grow gnarly from the wound.
Grief - The art of living after your heart is ripped out of your body
Lyrics
My mind is a maze
My heart is ablaze
I’ve seen better days
But it’s been quite a while
I’m not so much sad
And I’m not feeling bad
But this day that I’ve had
Has stretched out for miles
I know this cloud will eventually catch the wind
And it will Shine, Shine, Shine, Shine,
When the moon pulls the sun up to the sky
It will Shine
It surprised me today
Crept up behind in a way
“I am fine” I will say
I don’t want to explain
‘Cause you can’t understand
Unless you’ve been where I am
I don’t want to pretend
But I’ll say it again
I know the dawn will look upon another day
And it will Shine, Shine, Shine, Shine,
When the moon pulls the sun up to the sky
It will Shine, Shine, Shine…
The Saying Goodbye Concert - November 14, 2021
Nominated for the 2022 Outstanding Digital Live Music Event award - Canadian Live Music Industry Awards
The Saying Goodbye Concert was a national virtual and in-person concert held on November 14, 2021 with performers from across each province and territory, in honour and awareness of National Grief and Bereavement Day on November 16, 2021.
Hosted by Tara Shannon, the concert includes performances from Canadian performing artists including Johnny Reid, Gregory Charles, John McDermott, Michelle Wright, Fred Penner, Jenn Grant, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Ray Legere and many more.
Saying Goodbye provided a time and place to grieve for loved ones lost during COVID-19 as the pandemic prevented many from engaging in the usual process of letting go.
What can you do?
- Send us your resources! What do you do to support the bereavement process? Contact us at [email protected]
- Share your stories on social media! Challenge Canadians to ask each other about their grief and bereavement, and share their stories. Don’t forget to tag CHPCA on Facebook (CanadianHospicePalliativeCare) and Twitter (@CanadianHPCAssn) and use the hashtags #Grief2021 #IFeel
- Write and submit articles to local newspapers or create online posts for your own websites about grief and bereavement day and what it means to you.
- Write Op-Ed pieces from your organizations to submit to national newspapers.
- Submit articles to ehospice – [email protected]
- Donate: CHPCA is advocating 365 days a year for strong national Hospice Palliative Care policy to serve all Canadians. You can help make our voice stronger by making a donation of any amount at chpca.ca/donate or by donating to your local hospice or palliative care program.
Thank you to our 2021 National Bereavement Day Sponsors.
