Sesame Workshop has developed these four parent and caregiver articles to offer language, tips, and strategies to help communicate with children about coping with grief.
The following resources have been carefully created by Eluna and thoughtfully compiled from our partners and other leaders working in the fields of substance use disorder (addiction) and grief. We hope that this page can serve as a bookmark that you will revisit when supporting youth & families grieving an overdose or substance related death.
In this conversation, Eluna's respected panelists of clinicians & caregivers addressed barriers associated with overdose loss and shared strategies to support youth & families grieving a substance-related death.
Many young children were unaware that their parent or sibling had a problem with alcohol, controlled substances like opiate pain medication, or with illegal drugs. Families may deny that there was a problem prior to the death and may try to hide the problem from the children. Since children typically have trouble understanding and accepting when a family member or close friend dies, this type of death is even more difficult to grieve, because the children do not fully understand the cause.
The Letter was written to help children grasp the idea of substance use disorder as an illness and how to overcome shame. This strength-based book provides a message of hope and love for Annie and her mother. Substance misuse is explained in kid friendly terms and ends with a sample letter and activity.
The Eluna Resource Center is proud to present Eluna's Expert Voices! Using the framework of the 7 C's, we have interviewed 19 Camp Mariposa Experts across the country including mentors, caregivers, clinicians, and camp directors. The interviews have been woven together into a series of videos with the goal to elevate expert voices and expand resources within the field of addiction prevention and mentoring support. In this video, Camp Mariposa Experts talk about the IMPORTANCE OF CAMP ACCESS & AWARENESS
The Eluna Resource Center is proud to present Eluna's Expert Voices! Using the framework of the 7 C's, we have interviewed 19 Camp Mariposa Experts across the country including mentors, caregivers, clinicians, and camp directors. The interviews have been woven together into a series of videos with the goal to elevate expert voices and expand resources within the field of addiction prevention and mentoring support. In this video, Camp Mariposa Experts speak about the 8th C: IMPORTANCE OF COMMUNITY
The Eluna Resource Center is proud to present Eluna's Expert Voices! Using the framework of the 7 C's, we have interviewed 19 Camp Mariposa Experts across the country including mentors, caregivers, clinicians, and camp directors. The interviews have been woven together into a series of videos with the goal to elevate expert voices and expand resources within the field of addiction prevention and mentoring support. In this video, Camp Mariposa Experts speak about the IMPORTANCE OF SAFE COMMUNITIES
The question isn’t IF or WHEN you will experience compassion fatigue….the question is HOW OFTEN and for HOW LONG. The reality is, as caregivers, we have our own stories. We have experienced our own losses, trauma and heartache. Every time we listen to the stories of those we serve, we are flooded with the suffering being shared, but also the insurgence of our own! If you are a parent, grandparent, guardian, mentor, mental health professional, healthcare professional, frontline worker, first responder, or educator this post is for you! Let this article be your reminder, even better, your permission, to prioritize self-care.