Bereavement Services

VON DURHAM HOSPICE SERVICES

April 2021
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Help us make a difference

Join our 250 volunteers across Durham Region and bring comfort and a smile to someone in your community.

Bereavement Care Coordinators assist clients who have experienced loss. The Bereavement Care Coordinator is responsible for the intake, assessment, and service provision for clients living and coping with grief and bereavement. The coordinator will be involved in case management and case consultations with other health professionals in Durham Region. The coordinator will ensure continuity of 1-1 programming and bereavement support group programming.

This program is based on a peer support model, which means that volunteers who are bereaved and further along in their grief journey, provide support to clients who are also bereaved.

Our trained volunteers can meet with you one-to-one to provide a safe place to share your story. Our volunteers are people like you, who have experienced a death in their life and can provide 8 sessions of peer support.

VOLUNTEERS PROVIDE:

One-to-One Support

Our trained volunteers can meet with you one-on-one to provide a safe place to share your story. Sessions are scheduled weekly at a mutually convenient time at our office.

Support Groups

After the loss of a loved one, many people want to connect with others who have experienced a similar loss. Our groups are facilitated by two bereavement volunteers who are supported by staff. Generally, groups meet once a week, in two-hour sessions, for up-to 10 weeks. Groups include: Drop-In, Spousal/Partner Loss, Parental Loss, Child Loss, Teen Bereavement, and Children’s Bereavement.

Volunteers also facilitate bereavement groups including:

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Drop-In Group

This weekly drop-in group provides an opportunity for newly bereaved individuals to connect and share with others who are journeying through the wilderness of grief. It provides participants a safe place to be listened to at a pace that is directed by them.

This open support group runs approximately four times a year and runs 11-12 weeks in duration. It supports a mixed-loss approach.

Spousal/Partner Loss Group

The loss of a spouse or partner is devastating and requires one of the biggest life adjustments you’ll ever have to make. Our Spousal/Partner Loss Group provides a safe space to express your grief journey with peers who have experienced the death of a partner or spouse. This closed support group runs approximately three times a year and is 10-weeks in duration. It is free-of-charge and is facilitated by volunteers who have also lost their spouse.

Child Loss Group

A parent can never be prepared for a child’s death. The shock and devastation of such an enormous loss is life-altering and for most will be felt a lifetime. This closed 8-week support group brings together other child-bereaved individuals in your community seeking a safe and supportive environment in which to discuss their grief. This group is facilitated by trained volunteers and is free-of-charge.

Parental Loss Group

Losing a parent can be a life-changing experience. This loss creates a void that can’t be filled by any other person. Regardless of the nature or quality of the relationship we may have had with our parents, their death can/will have a profound effect on us. This closed support group runs approximately twice a year, is 8-weeks in duration and free-of-charge. This group is facilitated by volunteers who have also lost their parent.

Support for Children and Teens

VON Durham offers a Children and Teen’s Bereavement Program facilitated by volunteers who support participants by creating a safe space to share their stories, explore questions and feelings, and learn healthy coping strategies. A Caregiver Support Group is available concurrently with the Children and Teen’s Bereavement Program, providing caregivers with information about how to best support their children. Both the Caregiver Support Group and the Children and Teen’s Bereavement Program are free-of-charge.

Traumatic Loss

VON Durham’s Traumatic Loss Support Group is available for individuals who have experienced a sudden, traumatic loss of a loved one. Those who have lost a loved one to homicide, suicide or a traumatic incident will be surrounded by peers on a similar grief journey, in an environment where they are free to share their thoughts, feelings and memories. This group is facilitated, free-of-charge, by trained volunteers. It is a closed-group format and occurs approximately twice a year for 8-weeks.

Pet Loss

This program is designed for individuals who have experienced the death of a pet. The group provides a safe space where individuals can share their stories, explore questions and feelings, and learn healthy coping strategies. All of this takes place in an environment where grief is normalized and experiences are validated. This is a one-time session that occurs at varying intervals throughout the year and is free-of-charge.

REFERRAL FORM

Download Referral Form Here

VON Durham Site, Home and Community Services
1615 Dundas Street East
Lang Tower West Building, Suite 304
Whitby, ON L1N 2L1

T: 905.240.4522
Toll Free: 1.877.668.9414
Fax: 905.240.4533

Email: vondurhamsite@von.ca