Support group for dealing with grief and loss
People in the Delta need to know that there is going to be a support group meeting held here in Bethel, and hopefully starting up in the surrounding villages.
There are a lot of people having trouble dealing with the loss of a loved one whether it be by old age, sickness, accidental drowning or freezing due to intoxication, and through suicide.
Unresolved grief may play a big part in why some people are getting in trouble and become caught up in the court system. Turning to drinking and drugs is what some people are doing which usually ends up getting them into trouble.
It should be a priority for all service providers to work together with experienced community members who seems to have overcome their own grief and loss issues. One way to begin working towards this effort is to give out a phone number that anyone willing to make themselves available is to get on a helpers list.
Once that list has grown to a handfull of interested members, a meeting should be arranged to plan out where and when a weekly or bi-weekly meetings can be held to share what they have experienced and how they have dealt with issues of grief and loss.
That meeting then can extend out to the general public which will be headed by experienced members focused on helping those having trouble dealing with their grief and loss issues. This same format can be offered to regional service providers out in the surrounding villages.
By helping our people heal from grief and loss, I feel that we will see a reduction in the rate of re-offending in the court system.
It is time to start support groups in our communities. So let’s do it.
Thank you again for your time.
— Wilson Green, 545-0437