Grief and Loss

Good Grief: Supporting People After Loss (May 2022)

This on-line training event will provide caregivers with practical information about the grieving process, evidence-based guidelines for breaking bad news to people with cognitive disabilities and useful support strategies for people of any religious affiliation.

Led by Rev. Melissa Tustin, Director of the Soul Food Project

Good Endings: Planning and Support at the End of Life:  Part 1 (Sept 23, 2022) and Part 2 (Sept 30, 2022).  Each session is 1 ½ hours long. 

Rev. Melissa Tustin from the Soul Food Project and the DDS Northeast Life Changes Committee hosted this two session on-line training on end of life planning and support.

Part 1 held on September 23rd consists of a panel discussion with experienced practitioners and stakeholders in end of life care.  Rev. Melissa Tustin was joined by Dr. Beth Collins, a retired palliative care physician; Ellen DiPaola, J.D., professional end of life planner and President of Honoring Choices Massachusetts; Debbie Flannery, parent, retired hospital social worker and Chair of the Board of Directors at Minute Man Arc; and James Kinuthia, RN, BSN, hospice and DDS regional nurse.

Click here for Part 1

Part 2 held on September 30th was led by Ellen DiPaola, J.D., President of Honoring Choices Massachusetts. Planning tools preview www.honoringchoicesmass.com

Click here for Part 2

Thank you for visiting the Grief and Loss tab of the DDSLearning.com website. These resources were curated by the DDS Northeast Region Grief and Loss Resource Committee. We established this committee in May 2020 in response to the collective grief and loss we have experienced. As we move forward, acknowledging that COVID-19 is not behind us, we need to help ourselves, our colleagues and the individuals we serve make sense of this tremendous loss. We have separated our resources into Resources to Help Individuals Grieve and Resources for Staff. The focus of the articles are: how to help individuals with ID/DD grieve, how to talk about grief and loss, and how staff can care for themselves and each other.

Grieving

This section looks at ways that people can support one another through the grieving process. It gives particular attention to the experience of grieving in the context of a community of ‘differently-abled’ individuals. It includes L’Arche Canada’s 2013 “Grief Support Kit” of 3 documents (Manual, Journal and Backgrounder) for facilitating such groups with people who have an intellectual disability.

The information on this site remains the property of The Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services (DDS) or the person who created it.  You may use this information in a classroom for training purposes only.  No materials may be sold for more than the cost of reproduction without the explicit consent of The Department.  Where effective use of the materials requires training, do not use or support their use without the required training being provided. (For example, providing facilitator training without having successfully completed the course for facilitator trainers.)  Training information can be obtained from any Regional Learning and Development Director.