Creating Peer Grief Advocates - a program coming soon!

The experience of grief is universal; we all feel sadness and loss in our lives. However, certain sectors of society can experience grief in more profound and cumulative ways. The field of grief and loss and its impact on this community have not been fully examined despite our best knowledge that they would benefit greatly from support and targeted programs.

Grief and loss with individuals with developmental disabilities (IDD) community is different and more complex based upon a broad definition and experience of loss. Not only do they lose people and places (parents, friends, caregivers, homes, communities etc.) but many living within the care system also lose the opportunity to make significant choices for their lives. They also suffer the loss of privacy and autonomy.

My own experience as well as recent interviews and papers indicate that those with IDD do not wish to simply be the recipients of bereavement support, they want to use their experiences to help others - their bereaved peers, family members, and staff (Grosset 2023). In fact, two participants from the Compassionate Corner, a grief program I run in a rural Albertan town, have stressed the importance of sharing what they have learned about managing grief with others in their community. These anecdotes and experience convincingly show that a targeted and bespoke program to train these individuals to become peer support in their own communities is necessary, needed and desired.

A secondary, but no less important aspect of training peer grief support advocates, lies in building confidence, resilience and agency for those living within a system that can stymie this due to its inherent (yet best intent) nature of support and group living structure. Developing life skills is a foundation of training for many service organisations working with IDD populations. Handling grief, loss and bereavement is one of those life skills and best delivered by those with relatable experience.

The training will have a structured approach for training peer grief advocates, aiming to equip a small team of individuals with the knowledge, skills, and sensitivity required to support those experiencing bereavement within their community. The framework is designed to ensure consistency, compassion, and awareness across all volunteer interactions.