Each August, the National Association for Loss and Grief (NALAG) leads Grief Awareness Month. Their Lonely But Not Alone campaign aims to promote wellness around experiences of loss, grief, and trauma and build compassionate spaces where grief is met with connection, understanding, and hope.
Throughout the month, NALAG offers educational programs, community events, and resources to support individuals and families navigating grief. Their suite of free downloadable resources includes brochures and videos that help individuals heal from diverse types of loss, and learn practical coping skills. These resources cover a wide range of topics, including the death of a loved one, pregnancy or infant loss, pet loss, trauma, and identity and role changes.
Please click here to access these resources on the NALAG website.
Another valuable resource and program is available through our colleagues at Palliative Care Tasmania. Their Learning Through Loss program creates grief-literate communities through evidence-based education and high-quality resources. One standout resource is the youth-focused book Navigating Through Grief and Loss.
This book has been written to support young people in understanding their grief and to provide them with the resilience-building tools to support them on their grieving journey. The core message of this book is that there is no right or wrong way to grieve. Children need permission from the adults around them to grieve in the ways that feel right for them.
You can use this book to open up conversations with children about what their grief looks and feels like and there are discussion questions in the back of this book to help you in doing this.
Download the digital version of the book from their website here.
For educators, professionals, and volunteers their Learning Through Loss online course provides tools to support young people through grief and loss. It explores themes of grief, loss, change, and self-care practice. Free for Tasmanians, for those outside the state the course is available for a small fee.
#letstalkaboutgrief