connecting to grief, connecting through grief webinar series: how to make your campus “grief...

Connecting to

Grie

f,

Connecting th

rough G

rief

Webinar Serie

s:

How to Make Your Campus

“Grief Informed”

Wednesday July 16th at 2 pm EST

Thank you to our sponsor

A big thank you to our sponsor New

York Life Foundation for

helping us to make these webinars

possible!

A “Silent epidemic”

• 22-30% of college students are in the first year of grieving the death of a family member or close friend

• 35-48% are within the first 2 years (Balk, 2001; Balk, 2008).

Society’s Expectations of College Students

• Partying• No worries• Figuring things out• Lazy• Broke• Studying• Having fun• Reality check• Open

• Learning• Expanding horizons• New friends• New relationships• Experimenting• Fun• Independent• Wild and crazy• Self-centered

Snapshot of a College Student

• Independence– Financially, geographically, responsibility, etc.– Balancing work, family, school, etc.

• New Experiences/Relationships– People, places, events, etc.– Shift in world view

• Life Goals– Career, direction, jobs, etc.

• Higher Education– Expectations, demands, etc.

Snapshot of a Grieving Student

• Report:– Feeling alone/isolated– Academics might suffer– Social life can hit extremes (none or overly

active)– So many life pressures– Feeling lost– Lack of motivation– Depression– Lack of support from non-bereaved peers– Limited resources on campus

Our Vision for a “Grief Informed” Campus

• National way to honor campus-wide efforts to educate faculty/staff and students, as well as support and empower grieving students.

• Up to date on research and policies to ensure the highest level of competency.

• Create networks to share plans, policies, and information about college student grief.

The Holistic Approach

• Advocate for a grief-informed campus:– Mental health

counseling staff– Dean of Students– Faculty– Other staff members– Students– Faith-based

supporters– Residence Life staff

• Provide:– Bereavement Leave

Policy– Education on grieving

college students• Lunch ‘n Learn,

webinars, trainings, articles, orientation, etc.

– Mental health counseling

– National Students of AMF chapter – peer-led grief support group

Creating a Campus Community

To Do:Create a task force

of students and faculty/staff

Create a Bereavement Leave Policy on your campus

Start a National Students of AMF chapter

Dispense information about grief to the student body

Create educational programs for individuals to learn about grief

Create a crisis plan for possible campus tragedy

Bereavement Leave Policy

Policy: • “Excuses students for funeral leave and gives

them an opportunity to earn equivalent credit or show evidence they can meet the learning outcomes for missed assignments or assessments.”– Specific guidelines are set for the amount of

time a student may be absent based on relationship to the deceased and where the death happened.

– Non-family losses may be petitioned by students.

Bereavement Leave Policy

• After a death loss– Student contacts Dean of Students office

• Dean of Students Office– Sends out official leave notice to student’s

instructors– Ensures student may make up work from

absence• Benefits:– Help normalize grief experience– Self-care and leave of absence is “normal” and

healthy– Creates a uniform set of regulations for

instructors and other faculty/staff

Educating Your Campus

• Lunch n’ Learn– A great way to engage colleagues and teach them the

important basics of college student grief and how they can help.

• Orientation– Create a full day program to talk about college student

grief as well as crisis planning on your campus. This can be facilitated by your task force and a National Students of AMF representative.

• Bereavement Leave Policy– Allows colleagues to have set guidelines to follow. This

will help both them and the students in better communication and understanding.

Educating Your Campus

• Workshops – A National Students of AMF representative presents about

college student grief and how to respond as a campus community. Or have an AMF student present about their chapter.

• Webinars– Have colleagues join our FREE webinars to raise awareness

and education.

• Task Force Consultation– Having troubles knowing exactly what your taskforce should

be working on? A National Students of AMF representative can do a one-day or multi-day consultation with your team to make sure you are doing all you can to support your campus.

National Students of AMF Chapter: Two Part Model

Peer-led Grief Support Group

• This is a group for students grieving the illness or death of a loved one.

• Gives students a safe place to connect with peers and tell their grief stories.

• This is NOT a counseling group and there is NO mental health professional present.

Service Group• This is for grieving

students as well as supporters and friends.

• Allows students to be empowered and support a great cause while being surrounded with AMF members and friends.

Why Peer-led Support?

• Receiving mental health services can be “scary”– Outlet for support– Less threatening environment– Stigma– We lower the stigma about MH services and refer to

counseling

• Builds a community– Open forum to talk about grief, school, and life

experiences– Promotes interpersonal relationships– Feelings of being heard and understood

Why Service Groups?

• Empowering experience– Supporting important causes– Establishing peer to peer connections– Creating a feeling of belonging

• Build leadership skills– Nurturing community networking– Accomplishing tasks as a team – Expanding “normal” college experience

• Promotes the Support Group– Raise awareness on campus about Support Group and

talking about grief

Students of AMF Chapters Goals

Reduce• Isolation• Loneliness• Lack of peer

community• Helplessness• Taboo

Encourage• Support• Empowerment• Connectedness• Leadership• Sharing feelings and loss

experiences (death and other)• Hope• Unites the human grief

experience with other peers• Creates a healthy outlet for

grief• Education• Community involvement

Take Action on Your Campus

• Create campus to do listBe there for your students (“I am here”)Share with your students about National Students of

AMF at www.studentsofamf.org and other resources on campus (Deans, Campus Ministry, Counseling)

Encourage your students to channel their energy towards positive outlets

If a chapter begins, consider being Faculty Advisor or a Community Board member

Share with your colleagues about AMFLook into Bereavement Leave Policy on your campusCreate a taskforce to help grieving studentsEducate students and colleagues about college

student grief

National Students of AMF Video

Thank you for

joining us!

Please join us next month

The 4 F’s of Grief:

The Importance of Feelings, Food, Fitness & Fun

August 13th @ 2pm EST