August is the month that is home to ‘Dying to Know Day’, an annual campaign that empowers all adult Australians to be strong self-advocates for their planning regarding their future, including their passing.
Katrina Weller, Founder of ‘Grow with Grief’ and Cheryl Lardner, Co- founder of ‘Wishkeeper’ are advocates in this space based on their own lived experiences with grief and loss.
Katrina experienced significant loss at 15 when her Mum, Greta, passed away from Cancer.
While Cheryl, had sailed through life avoiding loss until 2013, when her Mum Barbara died after several years of aggressive dementia.
Katrina works with schools, companies and individuals across Victoria to normalise conversations around grief and provide evidence-based strategies through workshops.
As part of ‘Dying to Know Day’, these Hobsons Bay locals are joining forces to bring the community together for a two-hour free workshop to honour people loved and lost on Sunday, August 27.
Cheryl said they both understand grief looks different for each person.
“There are no rules about how you should feel, when you should feel it and how long it should last,” she said.
“Living with loss can be an isolating experience, yet it doesn’t need to be. Talking or simply being with others experiencing loss can profoundly impact our journeys.”
Katrina said people are not taught how to handle loss and they want to change that.
“We are not taught how to handle loss of any kind unless our parents take the lead with these conversations when we’re young,” she said.
“Often this is not the case, so when we face loss, we don’t know what to do or how to be. This can have a huge impact on our mental
health for many years.”
Details: www.eventbrite.com.au/e/grieftalks-moments-that-matter-tickets-677224104527
