We Inspire Hope and Healing for People Who are Grieving
You Are Not Alone in Your Grief
Let us walk with you. You are seen. You are heard. You are supported.
Our Peer Support Programs and Services offer compassionate peer support from trained volunteers who have lived experience with grief and loss by death. We provide peer grief support for our community by peer-to peer interaction for people who have had family members and friends who have died and are grieving. We are here to listen, to share, and to walk alongside you in your grief journey.
It’s important to know that our volunteers are not professional counsellors, therapists, or crisis responders. We do not provide medical, psychological, or legal advice, and our services are not a replacement for professional care. If you feel like your issues and concerns are in need of more attention than what we offer as support, we encourage you to seek professional guidance. If you are in crisis or feeling unsafe, please reach out to a healthcare provider or crisis line.
Our Impact
-
“It is incredibly helpful to have a designated safe place to grieve with those who truly understand. Instead of carrying the heavy weight all day and night, alone, I was able to take my grief backpack off for much of the time outside the meetings, allowing me to rest, recover and experience more joy. At meeting time, with the support and understanding of the group, I had the energy and desire to pick the backpack up again… I am now stronger and feel braver in moving forward with my grief.”
Participant I
-
“It has been five years since I lost my daughter to suicide, and I look back over these 8 weeks closed group as some of the most influential and beneficial grieving work I have done in all that time.”
Participant II
-
“The BFO Ottawa programs came at a time when I needed support that those who love me were not able to give. I am grateful for the positive difference BFO has made in this terrible time of my life”
Participant III
-
“I really appreciate the importance of healing through shared experiences and this group definitely exemplifies that and I am very grateful for it!”
Participant IV
-
“Peer connection has moved me forward in ways that no professional talk session could.”
Participant V
-
“It is a place just for what you feel about what you have lost. It's healing and supportive.”
Participant VI
-
“I was in a very dark place and I feel I've gotten a little bit of light back into my life.”
Participant VI
-
“This group is the perfect way to open up your heart to the grieving journey. Grief is excruciating and having a support system to support you and the others in the group is such a beautiful and powerful thing.”
Participant VII
-
“The value of sharing and learning from others the value of the connections is invaluable.”
Participant VIII
-
“Grieving the loss of my mom has been the most difficult experience of my life. The workshop at Bereavement Families of Ottawa gave me tools, compassion, and a sense of community that helped me move through the pain. The Butterfly Memorial was a beautiful reminder that my mom’s memory continues to live on. Together, these experiences brought me both healing and hope.”
Julie S.
Sign up to receive email updates about our upcoming programs, events and newsletter in your inbox.
Our office situated in Ottawa, resides on the unceded, unsurrendered Territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation, whose presence here extends back to time immemorial. As an organization that supports individuals with navigating their grief journeys, we acknowledge the profound impact of colonization, which has inflicted deep wounds on the land and its peoples, including grief and loss stemming from the disruption and destruction of Indigenous communities and ways of life. We recognize that grief and mourning are interwoven into the fabric of Indigenous experiences, and we hold space for the collective grief and healing journey of Indigenous Peoples.