Connecting to Grief, Connecting through Grief Webinar Series: How to Make Your Campus “Grief Informed” Wednesday July 16 th 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 list  Be there for your students (“I am here”)  Share with your students about National Students of AMF at 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 AMF  Look into Bereavement Leave Policy on your campus  Create a taskforce to help grieving students  Educate 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 2pm EST