Category: News

We are connecting today with an important update about the Living with Loss by Substance Use group. We will be transitioning the group away from a monthly open group to a closed 8-week program beginning in the fall (dates to be determined).

The April 16 group will be the last in the program’s current format.

Our team has spent a lot of time over the last year reviewing and assessing this program to ensure the support provided continues to be beneficial for participants and sustainable for BFO to continue as an organization.

The decision to shift to this format was made for a number of reasons:

• Death by substance use can be complex for a drop-in format where participants may feel like they have to share their experience over and over again with new people joining each month. We recognize this may be activating and retraumatizing for participants and facilitators alike.

• The eight-week format provides an opportunity to establish connection and build trust among a consistent group of participants leading up to the sharing of stories. This helps create safety in the group space and allows the BFO model of group development to unfold.

• It is challenging to find sufficient volunteer facilitators who are comfortable in their own experience of grieving a death by substance use to lead monthly groups. This impacts the ongoing sustainability of the program. The new format allows us to decrease the number of volunteers necessary to provide support and ensure we can offer the program in a consistent way.

We’ve compiled some questions we anticipate you may have about this change and included them below:

Q: I am a past/current participant in the Living with Loss by Substance Use group. Can I participate in the eight-week program?
A: Yes. You are welcome to register for this group. You will be asked to schedule a Welcome Meeting with our staff to gather information and find out more about your experience prior.

Q: What support is available until the fall?
A: Our mixed-loss group Living with Loss is offered on the first Tuesday of the month (Kitchener and virtual) and the third Wednesday of the month (Waterloo). We are also working on launching a one-on-one support program (more details to follow).

Q: Is this only for people who have experienced the death of a child by substance?
No. Anyone who is grieving a death by substance use (drugs or alcohol) is welcome to register for the group, no matter the relationship to the person who died. Read more about what family means at BFO here.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. It’s important that you understand we are not removing a support option, but shifting to a model we feel will be more beneficial for your grief experience and growth.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at support@bfomidwest.org or 226-780-7236. It’s important that you understand we are not removing a support option, but shifting to a model that we hope is more beneficial for your grief experience and growth. 

MEDIA RELEASE

Kitchener, ON: When someone is grieving, it can have a significant impact on every aspect of their life both personally and professionally. What may look like forgetfulness, an inability to focus or a lack of motivation or productivity on the job, may be grief at work.  

Bereaved Families of Ontario – Midwestern Region (BFO-MR) is hosting a conference this fall that is tackling the critical issue of grief and loss in the workplace. Human resource and workplace wellness professionals, business owners, decision makers and team leaders are ideal attendees for this important day of learning.

“This conference aims to increase grief literacy and educate about the impacts of grief in the workplace,” says Jaime Bickerton, Executive Director.  “Having this knowledge and being proactive about putting policies and supports in place (rather than being reactive after an employee experiences a death) can contribute significantly to workplace wellness and employee wellbeing.”

The day of learning features four speakers addressing various topics related to grief at work.

• Grief Leadership in the Workplace: Susan Cadell, Social Work Researcher and Professor in the School of Social Work at Renison University College
• Grief at Work – What We’ve Learned: Melina Pearson, Outreach Coordinator, Bereaved Families of Ontario – Midwestern Region
• Limited Space for Grief: Workers’ experiences of bereavement and precarious employment in Ontario: Karima Joy, Karima Joy (she/her), MSW, RSW, PhD, Grief Education Program, University of Toronto 
• Our Summer of Nora: Tanner Nivins and Jessica Furtado will be sharing their story about navigating bereavement at work leading up to and following the stillbirth of their daughter Nora.

“We are honoured to be creating space to naturalize conversations around death, dying and grief, and to recognize that grief lasts well beyond five days of bereavement leave,” says Bickerton. “Our goal is for attendees to have tangible takeaways that they can apply in the workplaces. What is learned at this event is also transferrable to life outside of work, creating more compassionate communities for all.”

CONFERENCE DETAILS:

• Date: Tuesday October 1, 2024 (8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.)
• Location: Community Pavilion, Waterloo Memorial Recreation Complex, 101 Father David Bauer Dr ENTRANCE C, Waterloo, ON N2L 0B4
• Cost: $150/person
• Registration deadline: Monday September 16, 2024

For full session descriptions and to register click here.

St. Jacob’s, ON: In commemoration of National Volunteer Week, Bereaved Families of Ontario – Midwestern Region (BFO-MR) is teaming up with CHANGE Lifestyle & Apparel to raise awareness about the need for volunteers to make its grief support services possible.

“National Volunteer Week is an amazing time of year where we get to shine the light on the incredible things that volunteers make possible in our communities,” says Jaime Bickerton, BFO-MR Executive Director. “While the focus is on the positive impact of volunteerism and to share our gratitude for the many people who give so generously of their time, it’s also important to highlight that there is still a real need for volunteers in organizations like ours to make our services possible.”

CHANGE Lifestyle and Apparel, a BCorp-certfied store, is helping raise awareness through its charitable giving program that sees it donate 10% of sales to local charities on a quarterly basis.

“We are excited to be partnering with BFO-MR for the next three months and are glad we can open our space and create opportunities to talk about volunteering and raise awareness about the programs and services they provide,” says Dan Vandermolen, Founder of CHANGE Lifestyle & Apparel. “In-store events like these give our customers a chance to learn more about organizations doing important work in our community.”

National Volunteer Week runs April 14-20 and this year’s theme is Every Moment Matters. CHANGE Lifestyle will be hosting BFO-MR’s Volunteer Coordinator at their store in St. Jacob’s (1380 King Street North) on April 18 from 3-6 p.m. where she will be available to answer questions about volunteering with BFO-MR and to share more information about peer grief support programs and education initiatives.

“We would like to thank CHANGE Lifestyle & Apparel for this wonderful opportunity,” says Bickerton. “We know that grief is a difficult and uncomfortable thing to talk about for so many, that’s why it often stays in the shadows. Kudos to Dan for bringing it into the light through this partnership.”

ABOUT BEREAVED FAMILIES OF ONTARIO – MIDWESTERN REGION
BFO-MR has been providing grief support and education in Waterloo Region since 1996. We offer peer support groups for parents grieving the death of an infant or child, as well as a mixed-loss, open groups for adults grieving a death, and one specifically for individuals grieving a death by substance use. Volunteers who are themselves grieving a death facilitate these programs. Our Healing Little Hearts programs for children 4-12 are facilitated by professionals and feature a concurrent group for parents/caregivers. In addition to support groups, we host two memorial events during the year.

Educating the community about grief is another important part of our mission. Through education sessions, awareness campaigns, outreach initiatives and our Grief at Work program we hope to create a greater understanding of grief so we can create more compassionate communities for all.

ABOUT CHANGE LIFESTYLE & APPAREL:
We are a small business trying to do business better.

We are a family run business in St Jacobs, committed to being better global citizens by selling only B Corp Certified brands, and better local citizens by donating 10% of our revenue every 3 months to local charities. We are proud to partner with BFO to help share their values and passion for helping others in their time of need. Our goal is to create a shopping experience for people of Waterloo Region where they can purchase high quality goods from brands that have value beyond the physical product, and at the same time enable shoppers to know that they are helping build their community with each purchase. We are empowering people to be CHANGE makers by giving them an environment to shop that has the power to transform community and create a sustainable future for all. 

For more information, please contact:

Jaime Bickerton, Executive Director                        
jaime@bfomidwest.org                                            
226-780-7236                                                     
www.bfomidwest.org                                      

Dan Vandermolen
sales@changeapparel.ca 
226-750-9371 
www.changeapparel.ca

Kitchener, ON: Bereaved Families of Ontario – Midwestern Region (BFO-MR) is currently recruiting volunteer facilitators for its peer grief support programs in an effort to meet demand for service and increase the organization’s capacity to reach more individuals.

“As a peer support organization, the work we do would not be possible without the support of our volunteers,” says Jaime Bickerton, BFO-MR Executive Director. “We are at a critical point where we need to build our roster of group facilitators to ensure uninterrupted access to grief support.”

With the exception of its programming for children and teens, all BFO-MR groups are led by individuals who have also experienced the death of someone in their life. Being able to talk about the person/people who died and discuss coping strategies among a group with shared experiences is at the foundation of peer support.

“We have been very fortunate to have a core group of volunteers who have provided support for many years, but it’s not sustainable to continue relying on the same people year after year,” says Bickerton. “Given the heavy emotional aspect of this particular role, it has been challenging to recruit enough volunteers to maintain the status quo let alone foster the growth needed to enable greater access to grief support. Our ultimate goal is to offer in-person and virtual options for all programs.”

BFO-MR is currently recruiting peer support volunteers for:

• Program for parents grieving the death of an infant
• Program for parents grieving the death of a child
• Living with Loss (mixed-loss group for adults)
• Living with Loss by Substance Use (group for adults grieving a death by drugs or alcohol)
• Good Grief (program for teens)

A virtual information session is being held on January 31 from 6:30-7:30 p.m. for anyone interested in learning more about becoming a volunteer facilitator. Registration is required (https://bfomidwest.org/donate/volunteer/information-session-registration/)

Facilitator training is a requirement for volunteers who apply to lead BFO-MR’s peer support grief groups. Training is provided over 2-3 days and combines both in-person and virtual aspects. Day 1 and 2 are required for all facilitators, with day 3 being a requirement for any volunteer who wishes to facilitate a closed program (i.e. program for parents grieving the death of an infant or child). Day 3 covers the closed format and story sharing aspects of the group. Spring training dates are:

• March 20 (virtual) from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
• March 23 (in-person) from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

March 24 (in-person) from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.