Grief is specific. Support should be too.
Grief is not one-size-fits-all, and neither should the resources available to those experiencing it.
Grief Navigation™ is a completely free online resource created to help individuals and families find support specific to the kind of grief they are experiencing. With more than 30 types of grief and loss represented, the platform brings together support organizations, grief groups, books, podcasts, educational materials, children's programs, camps, downloadable resources, and other helpful tools in one accessible location.
The differences between types of grief matter. Losing a spouse is not the same as losing a child. Losing someone to homicide brings challenges that may be very different from those associated with suicide, illness, or an unexpected accident. Sibling grief is often overlooked. Pregnancy and infant loss, pet loss, estrangement, anticipatory grief, and the grief associated with major life changes each carry their own experiences and support needs.
Grief Navigation recognizes these differences rather than trying to place every grieving person into the same category.
Why Grief Navigation Was Created
Grief Navigation was founded by Teri L. Busse, a retired paramedic with more than two decades of experience in emergency services, who has also experienced profound personal loss.
After losing her husband in a motorcycle accident and later enduring the murder of her son, Teri understood firsthand how overwhelming it can be to search for meaningful support while navigating grief.
Throughout her career, she had witnessed countless families experiencing some of the worst moments of their lives. But experiencing those losses herself revealed another challenge: finding the right resources afterward.
Support exists, but it is often scattered across countless websites, organizations, communities, and individual programs. Someone already overwhelmed by loss should not have to spend hours searching to discover what help might be available.
Grief Navigation was created to bring those resources together and make them easier to find.
More Than One Kind of Grief
The platform includes resources for a wide variety of experiences, including the death of a child, spouse, parent, sibling, friend, or other loved one; homicide and suicide loss; pregnancy and infant loss; military-related loss; pet loss; and many forms of grief that are frequently misunderstood or overlooked.
It also recognizes that grief does not always involve a death. Estrangement, divorce, caregiving, changes in health, and other significant life experiences can bring profound feelings of loss.
Special attention is given to children and teenagers, bereaved siblings, grieving parents, and individuals facing complicated circumstances surrounding their loss.
Grief Navigation is continually expanding, with additional resources, organizations, and types of grief added as they are identified.
Free Support. No Barriers.
Grief Navigation is not a therapy service, crisis intervention program, or replacement for professional care. It is a resource-navigation platform designed to help people discover existing support, including human connections and professional services when appropriate.
There are no subscriptions, membership fees, or required purchases. The goal is not to profit from grief, but to make support easier to locate.
Individuals, families, counselors, advocates, and community organizations are encouraged to use and share the platform freely. Suggestions for additional resources and overlooked types of grief are always welcome.
Because grief is specific. Support should be too.