For Your Bereaved One:

Things that comforted me and my family:

• Acknowledging the loss. Ignoring loss and grief only makes bereaved people feel weird and like a burden.

• Let them lead in whether they want to talk about their loss or not. If it is too much for you, let them know gently and honestly.

• Reading It's Ok That You're Not Ok: Meeting Grief and Loss in a Culture That Doesn't Understand

• Sending a text that says, “Don’t feel like you have to respond, but know that I’m thinking about you.”

• Therapy and grief counseling. Search E-counseling.com and Betterhelp for tele-counseling or Psychology Today’s Directory to filter by insurance provider.

• Getting into nature. If you have access to a place that they don’t, you can offer it to them to use. Big spaces like the beach, desert, or mountains let grief expand.

• Asking someone what they miss about their lost one.

• Asking, “How will you care for yourself today?”

• Having virtual coffee over Zoom with a friend.

• Boxes of vegan goodies or teas. Try Mouth, Vegan Cuts, or Sips By.

• Trees planted in honor of our lost one.

• Money given to a cause dear to our lost one (for us, that was Modest Needs).

• Continuing to check in over the weeks and months after the loss. (It becomes lonely when it feels like everyone else has moved on.)