Our grief support programs (with the exception of Healing Little Hearts and Good Grief) provide peer support, not professional counselling, which means they are facilitated by volunteers who are themselves bereaved.
Current Programs:
- Living with Loss
For adults 18+ grieving the death of someone in their life - Living with Loss by substance use
For adults 18+ grieving a drug or alcohol-related death - Healing Little Hearts
For children ages 4-12 - Good Grief support group for teens
For teens ages 13-17 - Parents grieving the death of an infant*
For parents grieving pregnancy loss at any stage or the death of their baby - Parents grieving the death of a child*
Including adult children
*Regarding our groups for bereaved parents, when groups aren’t immediately available, we may also offer one-on-one peer support dependent on volunteer facilitator availability.
Group Cancellation Policy
Should a group need to be cancelled, registered participants will be notified via email or phone by 4:00 p.m. on the day of group. We will also indicate group cancellations on our office voicemail.
Weather-Related Cancellation
If a group is cancelled because of weather, an online option may be offered, and registered participants will receive a link to join virtually from the BFO-MR Program Coordinator. Where the majority of participants do not have access to a device, or are uncomfortable in the virtual format, group may be cancelled entirely for that evening.
Facilitator Availability Cancellation
If a facilitator is sick or their availability has changed due to unforeseen circumstances, and we cannot find a fill-in facilitator, group will not run that evening. For closed groups (child and infant loss, Healing Little Hearts and Good Grief), this may mean scheduling a make-up session. For Living with Loss and Living with Loss by Substance Use, participants will be able to attend the next scheduled session.
