Building a Home for Grief: Lessons Learned from an Interfaith Grief Group Created with and for the Unhoused

Abstract

This project aims to encapsulate the wisdom and insights gained over the course of an 8-month Grief Group hosted by Chaplains on the Way (COTW), a small nonprofit organization that provides spiritual care to people who are unhoused. The Grief Group was formed in response to the numerous deaths of COTW community members in recent years, though the group also created space for participants to process grief over various types of losses in their lives (e.g., material losses, functional losses, relational losses, etc.). The three main goals of the group were (1) to help attendees discover and/or connect with a sense of meaning related to their loss; (2) to promote coping practices grounded in compassion; (3) to cultivate a sense of community and collective support. Grounded in a strengths-based approach to chaplaincy, the Grief Group was co-created with community members who offered topics, resources, and insights that shaped the direction of the group. This project serves as a record of the agendas that were used in the Grief Group, and it also includes commentaries about each agenda, noting what worked well and what didn’t. The introduction provides background information on grief among the unhoused population, and it also delves into the chaplaincy theory and grief theory that underpinned the formation of the Grief Group. The conclusion summarizes the main themes and practices that were covered in the group, and it reflects on the lessons learned related to facilitation and participation. Finally, I consider the impacts of the Grief Group and its effectiveness in meeting its goals, as well as the implications of this project beyond the COTW community.