National Grief Awareness Week

The first week of December is observed as National Grief Awareness Week. It’s an important observance dedicated to raising awareness about grief and loss. It aims to break the stigma surrounding grief, acknowledging that it is a natural response to loss and can affect individuals in various ways. This week provides an opportunity to offer support to those who are grieving, foster understanding, and promote open conversations about this often-sensitive topic.

Grief is the emotional, mental, and physical response to a loss involving a wide range of reactions. Grief is deeply personal and a natural process. This week, help spread awareness and share resources to ensure no one grieves alone: https://www.samhsa.gov/newsroom/observances/national-grief-awareness-week #NGAW.

The way people experience grief depends on many factors. Some might experience very strong and long-lasting grief that can make daily life more difficult. There is additional support available for this experience.

Resources for All Stages of Life

Childhood

Children may experience grief due to the loss of a loved one. Understanding and coping with loss provides unique challenges for children, but these resources are available to help.

• The National Alliance for Children's Grief offers continuing education opportunities, facilitates grant programs, and features an extensive resource library. This national network of professionals, institutions, and volunteers promotes “best practices, educational programming, and critical resources to facilitate the mental, emotional, and physical health of grieving children and their families.”

Adulthood

Many forms of grief can strike during adulthood. In addition to the grief that comes with loss of a loved one, adults may experience grief over the loss of a job or due to troubles with fertility. Fortunately, many resources are available to help.

• The Center for Prolonged Grief at Columbia University provides resources for professionals and the public. Learn more about complicated grief with published studies and usable handouts. The center’s mission is to “ensure that all health and mental health professionals know how to recognize prolonged grief and to develop a workforce of therapists who can provide efficacious prolonged grief treatment.”
• The Center for Grief Recovery and Therapeutic Services offers direct services in person and by telehealth. The center also offers a wealth of resources for both providers and those experiencing grief. It even provides resources for people who wish to support a grieving friend.
• The Association for Death Education and Counseling (ADEC) has provided support to clinicians and the public for decades. The primary goal of this interdisciplinary organization is to “enhance the ability of professionals to meet the needs of those with whom they work in death education and grief counseling.” The association holds an annual conference and offers specialized certifications in thanatology.

Older Adulthood

Seniors may experience grief for the same reasons as younger adults. As adults age, they are more likely to experience the loss of friends and loved ones and may have to deal with these many times. In addition to the resources listed above for adults, there are resources available specifically for seniors.

• The AARP is well known for the many ways it supports older adults. This includes numerous articles and resources on grief, loss, and end-of-life planning.
• The Center for Grief and Trauma Therapy was started to provide specialist therapy services for those experiencing grief, trauma, loss, and bereavement. The center offers a guide to the unique needs of grieving seniors.
• The National Institute on Aging is a program of the U.S. government and one of the National Institutes of Health. It leads a broad scientific effort to understand the nature of aging and to extend the healthy, active years of life. NIA offers resources specific to grieving seniors, including such difficult topics as mourning the death of a spouse.

Grief is something everyone deals with in their life, yet it is a topic many find difficult to talk about. For those experiencing grief at any stage of life, professional counseling is a vital resource. Each person experiences grief differently, and there is no substitute for the personalized approach counseling offers.

Services We Offer:

Samish Prevention and Intervention

In Prevention and Intervention, we believe that the practice of connecting individuals to their culture, language and traditions fosters a greater sense of community which in turn promotes wellness and reduces distress. We plan to build upon our current service strengths to reduce gaps in mental health needs, substance abuse needs and provide holistic, culturally appropriate wraparound services for Samish Citizens and their families. We will work to align our vision with the SAMHSA National Tribal Behavioral Health Agenda (TBHA) which “Evaluates the importance of tribal identities, culture, spiritual beliefs, and practices for improving overall wellbeing”.

Mission:

Implementing substance abuse prevention, suicide prevention, mental health promotion, cultural healing revitalization, outreach, and holistic healing within the community which will allow us to come together and strengthen our identity as Coast Salish people. Developing capacity within the Samish Tribe to address the complex factors associated with a comprehensive opioid and stimulant use response by participating in, developing, expanding, and implementing activities, treatments, and prevention and intervention education within the 10 service counties of the Samish Indian Nation. 

Program Eligibility

Samish Citizens who reside in the 10-county service area (Skagit, Island, San Juan, Whatcom, Snohomish, King, Clallam, Jefferson, Pierce and Kitsap).

Mental Health Resources

Center for Traditional Medicine

Promotes traditional approaches and indigenous knowledge to address public health issues. It also offers several resources for mental health.

Healthy Aboriginal Network

Promotes wellness and literacy among indigenous youth through comic books and animated short films on health and social issues.

National Center for American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research at the Colorado School of Public Health

Specializes in research on mental health issues among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) populations.

Indigenous Story Studio

Creates illustrations, posters, videos, and comic books on health and social issues for youth (Canada- based)

• Strength of the Sash and Tomorrow’s Hope: Suicide Prevention
• Making it Right: Community Justice, Policing
• Just a Story: Mental Health Stigma

One Sky Center

The American Indian/Alaska Native National Resource Center for Health, Education, and Research; mission is to improve prevention and treatment of mental health and substance use problems and services among Native people.

• A Guide to Suicide Prevention
• Presentations and Publications: number of downloadable resources by topic (addiction treatment, adolescents, crisis care & disaster management, disparity of health services, mental health management, and more)

WeRNative

A comprehensive health resource for Native youth by Native youth, promoting holistic health and positive growth in local communities and nation at large

• My Culture – Wellness and Healing, Identity
• My Life – My Mind – Mental Health Difficulties, Improve Your Mood, Getting Help, and more (including specific MH issues)
• My Relationships – Unhealthy Relationships, Communicating, LGBT – Two Spirit
• Ask Auntie: similar to advice column – type in your question and it will pull up similar ones; if none answer what you’re asking, Auntie Amanda will write up an answer and notify you when it is posted.

StrongHearts Native Helpline

StrongHearts Native Helpline (1-844-762-8483) is a 24/7 confidential and anonymous culturally-appropriate domestic and sexual violence helpline for Native Americans.

You may contact us at any time, we are here to assist you any way we can.