Healing HeARTS care packages (NB COPES Facebook)
NB COPES Child and Family Grief Centre will host a virtual wreath-making event this Sunday to celebrate the memories of loved ones who have passed and offer counsel on coping with loss over the holidays.
The non-profit organization works to support families grieving the loss of a pregnancy, child, sibling or parent with its community members, grief educators, therapists and researchers.
“Our mission is to be able to support people but to also improve grief literacy,” said co-founder Pamela Pastirik. “I think everybody could say they understand the feelings associated with grief and loss, but it’s something that we don’t talk about – so when you educate people about grief you’re educating them around the importance of making their grief more visible, something that we can talk about.”
While working with the Maritimes branch of the Camp Kerry Society, specializing in bereavement care and supporting children, youth, adults and families impacted by loss, Pastirik saw a need for locally based organizations addressing and educating about grief.
Homemade hearts included in NB COPESHealing HeARTS care packages (NB COPES Facebook)
“Ontario and all the other provinces have a similar model, they have these centers that are really focused on helping children, youth and families,” she explained, adding that NB COPES being the first of its kind in Atlantic Canada. “We want to be the grief experts in our community and in our province, so that people come to us for advice or support.”
NB COPES began last December and became incorporated in March 2020. They have four special interest groups, consisting of Infant and Pregnancy Loss, Bereaved Parents, Bereaved Partner/Spouse, Bereaved Youth, for a total of 74 members.
They also have five therapists who volunteer with the organization, consisting of a youth therapist, music therapist, art therapist, psychotherapist, and a grief educator, along with other individuals who have background and experience on helping with grief and loss.
Pastirik says COVID-19 made their work unexpectedly timely. “This is a very unprecedented situation where grief has actually been pushed to the forefront,” she said. “We’ve all been impacted in some way by the fear of losing somebody or not being able to be with our loved ones when they’re dying or not being able to attend funerals or to gather – that is such an important part of processing grief.”
NB COPES Family Day art activities held at Snider Mountain (NB COPES Facebook)
The non-profit has held a multitude of events and workshops, such as its Healing HeARTS Care package program, its Family Day information session at Snider Mountain in August and an online Father’s Day event.
“We’re trying to hold events that will bring people together to validate loss,” she said, adding their wreath-making event is one way they can bring people together safely over the holidays, a triggering time for people who are grieving.
“We’re also going to do some education around grief and loss over the holidays about some of the things that you can do to support yourself and support your family around grief and tie it into art and creative activities.”
Anyone who wants to participate in the wreath-making virtual session can check out its Facebook event page. Further information about NB COPES and its support groups is available on its website and Facebook page.
