Canadians from coast to coast struggling with grief and loss are set to benefit from a $1 million investment from the federal government.

Dr. Phil Carverhill, a grief counsellor in Saskatchewan, says the money will fund a two-year project through the Canadian Grief Alliance called Advancing Grief Literacy in Canada.

He says the CGA is a collection of grief specialists across the country and organizations that seek to support and provide grief services.

“The funding will help to support the development of online resources, and a national awareness campaign to help those grieving and those who wish to help them and support them to better understand their experiences,” Carverhill states.

He says the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the gaps in grief support and literacy across the country. Instances of death increased across the country, and measures that prevented family members from being together at such a hard time only prolonged the grieving process.
Other gaps in the system include the fact that not all provinces share the same resources.

“There’s not particularly a lot of professionals who are trained at the advanced level in Saskatchewan in grief, loss, and bereavement necessarily.”

Carverhill suggests there needs to be more adequate training resources developed within professional colleges, such as psychology, social work, medicine, or nursing. “Part of the action plan… is to develop a resource base for each province and each area within each province hopefully, and across the country of who’s out there and available in terms of grief specialists. Those who are well versed in contemporary grief.”

Carverhill adds that grief can stem from much more than just the loss of a loved one. Grief can come from the loss of a job, a relationship, a pregnancy, or a move from a home.

At the end of the project in 2025, the CGA will deliver recommendations to the government on how the grief services, accessibility, and availability can be improved.