Caring for a loved one who’s ill or losing a spouse or family member can be difficult.
The Burnaby Hospice Society wants to ease the struggle with its 2017 group offerings.
Bereavement Journey 101 kicks off on Jan. 9 and will run for six Mondays, until Feb. 13, between 1 and 2:30 p.m. Participants will learn what grief looks like and they will have a better understanding of their emotions by the end of the classes.
“That really gives, I think, a really good foundation for people to get a grasp of what they’re going through is OK,” said counsellor and bereavement coordinator Jemma Templeton. “There’s an understanding there of all the elements and the dynamics that go with grief and loss.”
The society also has Fitness for the Soul, which meets on the first and third Thursday of the month. This workshop is for caregivers, people with a life-limiting illness, the bereaved and hospice society volunteers.
“Each week, there’s going to be different components,” added Templeton, noting the topics of self-care, stress management, self-esteem, mindfulness meditation, goal setting and collage art. “It goes in a really nice linear fashion in the senses that these things all completely tie into the process.”
The first two classes on self-care start on Jan 5 and 19, from 10 a.m. to noon.
Healing Connections, meanwhile, is a less formal support circle for adults. That group starts on Feb. 6 and runs from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Surviving the Loss of a Love is for folks who have lost a spouse or a life partner. Meetings are on the last Friday of the month, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. The next one is on Jan. 6.
There’s also a weekly walking group for the bereaved (caregivers are invited, too). They meet every Monday at the Burnaby Mountain Golf Course and every Wednesday at Deer Lake Park.
Anyone accessing the hospice society’s services must be a member. Membership costs $20 a year. All group meetings, minus the weekly walks, are held at 4535 Kingsway on the fifth floor.
For more information, call Templeton at 604-520-5024 or email [email protected].
