Depending on where you are in your grief journey, there may come a time when you feel the need to channel your pain—and the time and energy once devoted to your loved one—into something meaningful. For many, that path takes the form of volunteering.
Showing posts with label volunteer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label volunteer. Show all posts
From Grief to Giving: Finding Healing and Purpose Through Volunteering
Veterans Day 2025 ~ Honoring All Who Served
Our country has established two holidays ~ Veterans Day and Memorial Day ~ to honor the men and women who have worn the uniform of the United States. Unlike Memorial Day (the day we set aside to remember and honor military personnel who died in the service of our country), Veterans Day is intended to thank and honor all those who served honorably in the military, in wartime or peacetime, as well as those who died in battle or as a result of wounds sustained in battle. Veterans Day is intended to thank Veterans and their families for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to our national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served ~ not only those who died ~ have sacrificed and done their duty.
Bereaved Parent Asks: Can I Offer Grief Counseling in My Home?
One of the most important things you can do on this earth is to let people know they are not alone. ~ Shannon L. Adler
A reader writes: I have been looking into doing counseling in my home for bereaved parents and sibliings. Do you know if there is a license a person would have to have to start this, or are there other courses to take? I have just finished a psychology and sociology program over the internet. I am a beraeaved parent, and am wanting to help others walk this path in life that we never intended on taking. Can you help me or direct me to another party who can?
Understanding and Managing Grief, March 5 - March 11, 2023
The International Day of Hope and Healing after Loss is a free online experience brought to you by the Opento Hope Foundation with the mission of helping people find hope after loss. Open to Hope's International Day of Hope & Healing After Loss « YouTube
Understanding and Managing Grief: July 11 - July 17, 2021
Because mindfulness is all about being with whatever comes up — good or bad — it makes an ideal companion for healthy grieving. Grief Touches Us All, But Mindfulness Can Help « Healthline
You may not think about them this way, but you already use coping strategies in your day-to-day life . . . Here, experts share seven coping strategies that can help you weather the grieving process. Dealing With Grief: 7 Coping Strategies « Health
Voices of Experience: Surviving Complicated Grief
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| Sydell with her husband Rex, 2013 |
The risk of love is loss, and the price of loss is grief ~ but the pain of grief is only a shadow when compared with the pain of never risking love. ~ Hillary Stanton Zunin
Even though she is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Sydell Weiner writes that when her husband died nearly 3 years ago, "I fell apart. I was fortunate to find a 'Loss of Spouse' group at the Gathering Place, a service provided through Trinity Hospice at Providence Little Company of Mary. No sooner had that group ended, that a workshop called 'The Write Way' began. It provided guidance on how to use writing as a way of healing and working through grief. I have a blog on my website which had one or two counseling articles, but they were soon replaced by a series of blog posts that allowed me to express feelings too raw to talk about." The following post is taken from that series, and is reprinted here with Sydell's permission.
Understanding and Managing Grief, April 7 - April 13, 2019
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
Voices of Experience: Four-Footed Healers Support The Team
Isolation is a natural reaction to depression and grief. If you’re in the depths of depression, it can be hard to pick up the phone and call a friend. If you’ve lost of a loved one, lost your good health, or lost a relationship, you may pull inward and grieve alone.
But just because isolation is natural doesn’t mean it’s good for you. Isolation can create a spiral of despair. Depression and grief cause people to cut themselves off from friends and family, which in turn causes more depression and grief, and so on.
Talk therapy and medications are the standard treatments for these states of mind. Recent research, however, points to another way to help people escape that spiral. It’s been called the pet effect. Simply put, being around animals helps people feel less isolated, depressed, and grief-stricken.
Recognizing The Vital Role of Hospice Volunteers
[Reviewed and updated April 18, 2026]
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.
Understanding and Managing Grief, February 11 - February 17, 2018
When Grief Causes Guilt, http://j.mp/2EwAsrk « Second Firsts
Go First, Say Their Name, http://j.mp/2EuRpT3 « Grief Compass
My Guide to Finding Love After Loss, http://j.mp/2EuHuwO « Modern Loss
Voices of Experience: One More River to Cross
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| Image by Joy Filomena |
“Everything is upside down and I’m afraid of losing my balance…of falling.”
“I tell people I’m not afraid of dying but I am…”
“Here comes the grief and tears…”
“I feel lost but I know I’m not lost…”
“I could wake myself up when I was scared…but I can’t anymore…”
“My spirit is alive but my spirit can’t move my body…”
“I’m finding I’m feeling a bit less fear…”
“I have one more river to cross…the river Jordan”
“I feel the love…”
These are some of the words and experiences that unfolded over a two week period when I had the honor of being present with and exploring the many dreams and visions of a hospice patient, Gavin (name changed), until his death.
Caregiving and Hospice, November 5 - November 11, 2017
How Volunteering for Hospice Changed My Life, http://j.mp/2iHlX6q « Care Dimensions
#MeToo shows why women must learn sexual self-defense, http://j.mp/2hcAyXf « Kevin MD
The painful side of positive health care marketing, http://j.mp/2haX7LC « Kevin MD
Understanding and Managing Grief, September 17 - September 23, 2017
Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:
Helping Others to Help Yourself, http://j.mp/2hn3gI4 « Grieve Well
5 Ways Grieving Kids Changed My Own Relationship with Loss, http://j.mp/2hlPju5 « Modern Loss
How to Cope with Anticipatory Grief and Ambiguous Loss, http://j.mp/2hlNjhy « Next Avenue
Helping Others to Help Yourself, http://j.mp/2hn3gI4 « Grieve Well
5 Ways Grieving Kids Changed My Own Relationship with Loss, http://j.mp/2hlPju5 « Modern Loss
How to Cope with Anticipatory Grief and Ambiguous Loss, http://j.mp/2hlNjhy « Next Avenue
Caregiving and Hospice, July 2 - July 8, 2017
Cruising, sharing and learning as a hospice volunteer, http://j.mp/2uPhMcW « Coastal View
You can’t always get what you want… http://j.mp/2uLkpwp « The Fairytale and the Abyss
Palliative Care Patient Education Handouts, http://j.mp/1GT7ygX « Get Palliative Care
Understanding and Managing Grief, December 18 - December 24, 2016
Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream this week:
Updated: Coping with the Holidays: Suggested Resources 2016, http://bit.ly/2g7m25n « Grief Healing
Ease Grief by Volunteering, http://bit.ly/2hZ3rb9 « Seven Ponds Blog
New father loss song: Lukas Graham single, You're Not There, http://bit.ly/2ifgzcR « AfterTalk
Updated: Coping with the Holidays: Suggested Resources 2016, http://bit.ly/2g7m25n « Grief Healing
Ease Grief by Volunteering, http://bit.ly/2hZ3rb9 « Seven Ponds Blog
New father loss song: Lukas Graham single, You're Not There, http://bit.ly/2ifgzcR « AfterTalk
Veterans Day, 2016
Veterans Day is a federal holiday celebrated every year in the United States on the 11th of November. Originally called "Armistice Day," it was intended to honor veterans of foreign wars, but its purpose over the years has evolved to include and honor anyone who has ever served honorably in the military. It affords us an opportunity to thank veterans and their families for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to our national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served ~ not only those who died ~ have sacrificed and done their duty.
In addition to the Veterans Day National Ceremony held each year on November 11 at Arlington National Cemetery at 11 a.m., communities across America plan their own ways to observe the holiday ~ but you need not wait until that day to reach out to veterans and their families.
In Grief: After Caregiving Ends, Who Am I?
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| Source |
Alongside the hole left by losing a loved one, a caregiver may be surprised to feel a different kind of loss: a foundering sense of purpose. It makes sense -- caregiving can be so consuming and can require such hard-won expertise that it can be difficult to regain a footing in "normal life" afterward. ~ Paula Spencer Scott
A reader writes: My mother died 2 weeks ago. I had been her caregiver for 21 years. I don't know what to do or how to live. Everything I did was based on what was best for Mom. In the last couple of years, as Mom began to weaken, I became so depressed. I would care for Mom but neglected housework and yard work. I was always too tired. Now, I can do whatever I want, whenever I want....but I don't know where to begin . . . all of this stuff just makes me so tired. I just want to sleep or watch TV. Is this normal grieving? How do I shake myself out of this non-productive funk?
Caregiving and Hospice, April 10 - April 23, 2016
A Love Letter – “You Are The Light of Hospice,” http://j.mp/1P9oiAD « Hospice Times
Podcast: Using the Independent Death Doula in Healthcare, http://j.mp/1T3nQ6f « Hospice Times
Your anger towards doctors is misplaced, http://j.mp/214f65Z « Kevin MD
Understanding and Managing Grief, April 10 - April 23, 2016
Best selections from Grief Healing's Twitter stream:
On guilt: Helpful vs. Harmful Thoughts, http://j.mp/1rqyHBl « Open to Hope
On asking why? A Terrible Saturday Morning, http://j.mp/1SBOJUF « Open to Hope
I Still Grieve my Father's Silence, http://j.mp/1T3XReU « Open to Hope
On guilt: Helpful vs. Harmful Thoughts, http://j.mp/1rqyHBl « Open to Hope
On asking why? A Terrible Saturday Morning, http://j.mp/1SBOJUF « Open to Hope
I Still Grieve my Father's Silence, http://j.mp/1T3XReU « Open to Hope
Caregiving and Hospice, March 13 - March 19, 2016
What Does Giving Up Really Mean? http://j.mp/1T0TMN1 « Pallimed
Here's what it takes to be a hospice volunteer, http://j.mp/1RVDkZB « HT Health
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