The Grief Recovery Institute

First, let us offer you a hug as you're involved in these events too.

If people are reaching out to you, they know you're there and are looking for help. That's a testament to your previous outreach work! 

Russell Friedman always said that we're not typically the first responders, so we don't have anything formal to offer you to provide them. His advice was always that we should have Grief Recovery Method (GRM) groups planned to enroll in at all times so we've got something available to offer people when crises happen.

Do you have groups currently set up? Or do you (individually or as a group) have availability for one/ones at this time? If so, we'd suggest getting those fliers out to folks so they know you have the GRM available. The same goes for Helping Children With Loss (HCWL) since these scenarios can also involve youth. If you don't have groups already scheduled, get them on the books soon as possible. Then promote the groups through appropriate channels (school newsletters, local newspapers, churches, other youth-serving organizations, etc.) and send fliers to other counselors/therapists throughout the area who might want to refer people to you.

We'd suggest using the "Downloadable GRM group flier" on our SRC in the marketing tab. The flier can be printed to hand out to people or emailed. In your conversation (for in-person distribution) or the cover email (for electronic sharing), mention the scenario(s) as the reason the GRM is being offered. For example, "In light of the recent deaths of school-related personnel and students, the (name of your business) organization is providing Grief Recovery Method Programs in the form of 8-week support groups and 7-week one/one sessions. The fliers for each program are attached or can be found at (link to your fliers)."  Also, if you have your microsite up and running, be sure to put the groups on there too, and then you can say something in the cover email like "To inquire about or to sign up for these GRM services, please go to (your microsite address)."

The group flier can also be edited to be appropriate for announcing one/one availability. You can cobrand the fliers in the upper right corner with your organization logo if applicable. You should also include the cost in the paragraph near the bottom of the flier so that people reading the form will know it's not a free program.  

Another option would be to offer 1-hour educational talks/open forums. Offer these to schools, local groups, churches, and community service organizations. There is a ready-made PowerPoint on the SRC under the "Getting Started" tab entitled "GRM Basic Educational Presentation." You can edit this talk as needed for your audience and time frame, but the main part of the talk typically fits within an hour with time for Q&A afterward. Be sure when you do these talks to have copies of the fliers available for people to take with them.  

If you need more information or want to discuss additional ideas, please reach out to support@thegriefrecoverymethod.com to book a support call with one of our support team.

Thanks for asking, and thanks even more for caring!