PEER SUPPORT FOR GRIEVING YOUTH
Programs & Services
Ages of 13-24 by referral
We provide safe spaces for grieving youth
Everyone experiences loss, but for youth, the process can particularly difficult. At Friends of Living and Learning Through Loss, we’ve designed workshops and programs to support youth and young adults, arming them with tools and skills they can use to manage their grief and loss in healthy ways. The success of our work is based on a model of peer support, compassion, connection, understanding, and learning. Download a PDF overview of our services.
At Learning Through Loss we work hard to ensure that no one is turned away for lack of funds. We offer up to 8 sessions of individual counselling for South Island Youth. Counselling is provided at no-charge for those without Extended Health Coverage.
EDUCATIONAL SERVICES FOR YOUTH & COMMUNITY
Good Grief Workshops
Good Grief Workshops are interactive workshops that support school districts in providing grief education to children and youth by opening up the conversation on what grief is, what it feels like and how it can impact so much. In this workshop, our facilitator speaks to the commonality of grief and loss and the process of grief that often follows.
Community
Education Workshops
Ideally suited to parents and youth communities who have faced a loss. Community Education Workshops are designed to address the specific needs of participants after an untimely death, sudden tragedy, or shared community loss. These workshops increase the capacity of our communities to respond effectively to those experiencing grief and loss through our evidence based, research informed knowledge and practices.
Learning Through
Loss Peer Support
Group Program
The Learning Through Loss Group Program is an eight-week, sixteen hour peer support group that provides a safe place for youth who have been impacted by significant loss or change to find the support and resources to help navigate and manage their grief. The group allows youth to connect with their peers, gain invaluable life skills support, and find strength and hope in their capacity to survive, adapt and move through their loss.
Short-Term
Grief Counselling
Short-Term Grief Counselling support is provided by registered clinical counsellors and available to eligible youth and young adults between the ages of 13-24 by referral. Older youth can self-refer. Counselling provides one on one support to youth experiencing grief and loss who can benefit from individual counselling. Sessions are conducted according to the preference of the youth.
(Offering virtual services only).
SUPPORT SERVICES FOR YOUTH
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SERVICES
FOR TEACHERS AND STAFF
Supporting Youth
Workshops
Supporting Youth Through Loss Workshops are half-day workshops developed for youth-serving professionals who would like to learn more about how to recognize and support youth through grief and loss. These workshops focus on increasing knowledge and awareness; provide an experiential understanding of our approach to supporting youth; and provide the tools to assist in supporting youth who are responding to grief and loss.
Supporting Youth Through Grief Training Program
Supporting Youth Through Grief Training Program focuses on the importance of establishing group safety and cohesion as the foundation for the group process. We review time tested strategies as well as some of the potential barriers that may arise and how to navigate them. This training program is for school district personnel and community members who wish to learn more about grief in youth and is a precursor to participating in the group program.
"Being able to hear
the stories of fellow
grieving people and share
my own. It was comforting
to know of other youth
who have had to deal
with similar grief".
"The welcoming
atmosphere
and the general
demeanor of
the counsellors".
"How motivational
and inspiring the
counsellors were".
"The feeling of
being safe".