A Guide to Reimagining Community Support for Grieving Parents, Caregivers, and Families

As leaders within our own communities, we have the ability to ease the additional hardships that bereaved families and caregivers experience in the aftermath of child fatalities. By fostering a culture of understanding and altering our responses and systems that attend to them, we can build a tomorrow that is more compassionate and caring.

Evermore’s Community Bereavement Response Guide is composed of general information on grief and bereavement for communities seeking to enhance their care and practices following a child’s death. This includes specific fact sheets for community leaders who are most likely to encounter and be in a position to support bereaved parents, caregivers, and families, such as:

1. Childcare, Daycare, and Afterschool Providers
2. Clergy, Ordained Leaders, Chaplains, and Faith Leaders
3. Death Scene Investigators, Coroners, and Medical Examiners
4. Domestic Violence and Homeless Shelter Staff
5. Employers, Supervisors, and Human Resource Leaders
6. Emergency Department Providers and Staff
7. First Responders
8. Higher Education Faculty and Staff
9. Hospital Providers and Staff
10. Primary Care Providers and Staff
11. Reporters, the Media, and Influencers
12. Social Service Providers
13. Teachers, Educators, and Staff (K-12)

Other Practical Tips

As part of the Guide, we’ve created three additional fact sheets to help communities cope in the aftermath of child fatalities, including:

1. Special Considerations
2. How to Talk to Children About Death, developed in partnership with the Dougy Center, and
3. Top Ten Frequently Asked Questions About Bereavement