When someone is struggling with loss, the holidays can be a very difficult time.
As an added burden, many of the vulnerable neighbours we serve also experience isolation — making grief even harder to navigate.
YSM’s Mental Health team has developed a new 8-week Grief and Loss Support Group, which is running from October through November to help prepare community members to navigate the complex emotional journey of grief in the lead up to the holidays.
Grounded in a trauma-informed approach, the group offers a welcoming, safe space to process a variety of losses. As they gather with YSM counsellors, participants share their stories with each other and, importantly, experience the group’s support.
They explain how this group has helped them learn about and acknowledge the many different types of loss they have experienced — miscarriage, immigration, child apprehension, loss of identity, abandonment, loss of family.
“This group helped me feel less alone,” one community member shared. Another said, “I’ve explored my emotions in a way I never experienced before. I’m learning tools I can pass on to my children.”
It’s only because of your partnership that YSM can offer comprehensive, ongoing mental health support.
Thank you that even as vulnerable neighbours experience grief this Christmas, they know connection and healing are possible.
This story was first shared in YSM’s Winter 2025 Urban Lights.