Grief recovery program to help the vulnerable in Sudbury
The Samaritan Centre is multi-agency facility that offers services for Sudbury’s vulnerable population dealing with barriers like homelesssness, food insecurity, mental health and addiction isssues.
It recently received funding from the Sudbury Community Foundation for grief recovery training for staff to offer to clients.
Officials with the Samaritan Centre said that right now, vulnerable people have been deeply impacted by devastating grief-related issues compounded by the opioid crisis and the pandemic.
"We are seeing a sea change, so a profound shift in grief and loss. Grief is our emotional response to loss," said Lisa Long, the executive director of The Samaritan Centre.
Long said clients are facing innumerable losses right now.
"Whether it’s the loss of a person, a loved one, estrangement from family, the loss of housing, the loss of employment, pets etc. So we will be able to through grief recovery support them in their grief, in their loss," said Long.
Gerry Lougheed, of the Lougheed Funeral Home in Sudbury, has been helping people dealing with grief for 47 years and volunteers his time to help the vulnerable. He said he believes the new service at The Samaritan Centre will help clients better deal with their losses.
"A lot of them have unresolved bereavement issues some of them have actually ended up in that circumstance of life because they actually didn’t handle a bereavement situation well," Lougheed said.
"A child who died, all of a sudden they started to get addicted to tranquilizers or alcohol, a marital situation fell apart. So what Lisa is doing is most important with bringing light to that darkness."
The Samaritan Centre said it hopes grief recovery sessions will have a trickle-down effect.
"When our clients are able to better manage their grief and loss it’s going to help them better manage their lives and we are really excited about that to be able to support them in that," said Long.
The grief recovery sessions will be held in person and online.
The program is excepted to up and running in the next couple of weeks once training is complete.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
Trump's lawyers try to discredit testimony of prosecution's first witness in hush money trial
Donald Trump's defence team attacked the credibility Friday of the prosecution's first witness in his hush money case, seeking to discredit testimony detailing a scheme between Trump and a tabloid to bury negative stories to protect the Republican's 2016 presidential campaign.
U.S. flight attendant indicted in attempt to record teen girl in airplane bathroom
An American Airlines flight attendant was indicted Thursday after authorities said he tried to secretly record video of a 14-year-old girl using an airplane bathroom last September.
Powerful tornado tears across Nebraska, weather service warns of 'catastrophic' damage
Devastating tornadoes tore across parts of eastern Nebraska and northeast Texas Friday as a multi-day severe thunderstorm event ramped up in the central United States.