Understanding and Managing Grief, April 17 - April 23, 2022

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

Bioethicist Arthur Caplan discusses the tragedy of people dying alone, especially during COVID, and how we should change that. COVID-19: The Sadness of Dying Alone -- What Can We Do? « Medscape

Understanding and Managing Grief, April 7 - April 13, 2019

Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:

What not to say to a bereaved person, http://j.mp/2P8tPxo « AK Lander

Recognizing The Vital Role of Hospice Volunteers, http://bit.ly/2IZUOHk « Grief Healing

My Sudden-Onset Only Child Syndrome, http://j.mp/2uWWvAt « Modern Loss

Recognizing The Vital Role of Hospice Volunteers

[Reviewed and updated April 18, 2026]

Volunteers don't get paid, not because they're worthless, but because they're priceless. ~ Sherry Anderson

As noted in Healing through the Gift of Volunteering, at some point in the course of your own grief journey you may find yourself thinking about becoming a hospice volunteer.  The agency with which I was affiliated for 17 years, Hospice of the Valley in Phoenix, AZ, was founded by volunteers, and to this day, volunteers at Hospice of the Valley are considered vital members of the team, supporting dying patients and their families and offering respite care.  As part of HOV's Bereavement Services, they assist staff members with office tasks, special projects, sending condolence cards and preparing bulk mailings.  Through periodic telephone calls over a 13-month period following the death, volunteers offer compassion, understanding and support, as well as referral to appropriate resources, to bereaved individuals whose family members were Hospice of the Valley patients.