Website Links Bereaved to Loved Ones SADOD is launching Honoring the Many, which according to a statement on the new memorial website, was created “because people who die from substance use deserve to be honored and remembered — and those who are left behind to mourn their loss deserve to know that they are not …
Featured Resource: Help Is a Click Away Many people who read this newsletter know or work with someone who is grieving. SADOD is dedicated to providing hope, help, and healing to anyone who is suffering from a substance use related death. We want to support you in helping others cope with their grief. The peer-to-peer …
Peer Grief Helper Profile: Dave Swindell By Kerry J. Bickford When Dave Swindell talks about his son Christopher, his face lights up with a half-smile and memories of good times dance in his eyes. This is heartbreaking to witness since Chris, the middle child of three, died on July 13, 2018, of an accidental overdose. …
When Grief Intersects with Recovery By AnnE O’Neil, Guest Contributor Substance-use issues make a lot of things in a person’s life complicated. For example, I heard a guy at a meeting the other day say that he has “oversized emotions around normal, everyday life events.” I could relate to that. So what happens when we …
She Balances Compassion with Self-Care By Jill Shanahan, Guest Contributor I want to share two stories from my time as a harm-reduction worker at Tapestry that demonstrate the essence of harm reduction, the power of love and human connection. I am sharing them because there was a point in my career a few years ago …
Virtual meetings are serving a vital purpose during this highly unusual and frightening time when the COVID-19 pandemic has eliminated or altered face-to-face services. Many people are living in isolation and unable to connect with the outside world due to the social restrictions placed on all of us. Connecting via video to others who are …
By Kerry J. Bickford, SADOD Newsletter Editor — Are you or is someone you know or love a survivor of a traumatic loss? Our colleagues at the Surviving Traumatic Loss project are currently engaged in a longitudinal study on how to better support those of us who are grieving a devastating loss, and are extending …
Invitation: Share Your Voice in New Traumatic Loss Study Read More »
Welcome to the Age of Virtual Groups Virtual meetings are serving a vital purpose during this highly unusual and frightening time when the COVID-19 pandemic has eliminated or altered face-to-face services. Many people are living in isolation and unable to connect with the outside world due to the social restrictions placed on all of us. …
Find a Peer Grief Support Group When someone is grieving, they experience many different feelings, including sadness, guilt, anger, fear, isolation, heartbreak, and longing for their loved one. The stigma associated with having a loved one die of an overdose can exacerbate these feelings. With the COVID-19 pandemic, fear and isolation are becoming almost universal …
By Kerry J. Bickford, Newsletter Editor These are no easy times we are living through. As if it were not enough to be dealing with the addiction or death of a loved one, the COVID-19 pandemic has descended upon us, changing our lives in ways we could never have imagined. It was already challenging to …
