Home Hospice Association

Talking with Kids about Dying, Death & Grief Certificate Program

Are you a community leader or care professional who works with children, teens and young adults? Have you ever found yourself at a loss for words when the subject of dying, death or grief has come up with your clients, patients or residents? If the answer is yes, then you are the ideal candidate to join HHA’s Talking with Kids about Dying, Death & Grief Certificate Program. 

About the program

Designed for professionals working with young people, this Certificate Program provides you with the tools and techniques you'll need to feel confident navigating conversations about dying, death and grief with youth in your care.

The goal of the program is to ensure that, with your guidance, the young people in your care feel: 

Safe enough to share their thoughts and feelings about dying, death, and grief verbally, in writing, or both.

Comfortable talking about dying, death, and grief with the adults in their life.

Confident that when they experience the first or next death in life, they will have some tools to help them grieve in a healthy way.

Upcoming In-class Dates (online via Google Meet):

April 4 - May 30, 2024  (Thursday evenings from 7PM-9PM - EST)

Training Fee:

$500.00 Standard Training Fee

$375.00 for HHA-Trained Practitioners & Team Members

Payment in full is required to hold your spot in a selected session.

Those intending to work as C.A.N.D.Y. Cafe facilitators may receive tuition paid for under our Scholarship program, which entails 25 hours of volunteer facilitation or raising the equivalent of the regular registration fee through HHA's Moonlit Memory Walk annual fundraising event. Learn more about becoming a C.A.N.D.Y. Cafe Facilitator here.

Please note: Registration fees are non-refundable. If you can't make the session that you registered for, you can re-book yourself for a later date provided we receive notification at least 30 days before the start of the session that you already registered for. Forfeited fees are applied to our scholarship fund and a tax receipt will be issued to you. 

Included With your Fee

1 evening in-class (online) session per week for 9 consecutive weeks (includes 1 Parents & Guardians Death Cafe)

approximately 6 hours of independent study and assignments

All course materials and resources are provided

How to Talk with Kids about Dying, Death and Grief Resource Video

In-class quizzes and role-plays

Why choose Home Hospice Association as your Death Educators?

Since 2014, Home Hospice Association has been a leader and dedicated advocate for quality and compassionate death education. We created and mobilized Canada’s first Infant & Pregnancy Loss and Death Doula Training, we have delivered hundreds of community outreach educational events, and we offer a large portfolio of workshops all with the goal of normalizing death and helping each of us move towards our mortality. Our educators come from diverse backgrounds and bring knowledge and experience in communication, spirituality, cultural awareness, diversity, death and bereavement care. Each is committed to helping draw the circle of care wider for those facing death and their loved one with a holistic approach to the end-of-life journey.

Meet the Facilitator

Terri Viola-Wilson

Terri is C.A.N.D.Y. Café's Program Manager and HHA's Subject Matter Expert for Talking with Kids about Dying, Death and Grief. She is a retired teacher with over 30 years of engaging with young people in the classroom, on sports teams, in choirs, and in social justice movements. During those years, one of her passions was helping to improve communication between her students and the adults who cared for them.

With the mental welfare of young people in mind, Terri helped develop the C.A.N.D.Y. Café program. Drawing on both her personal and professional experiences, as well as her continuing education in childhood trauma and child and youth grieving, Terri brings empathy and knowledge to everyone she encounters through C.A.N.D.Y. Café - including young people of all ages and the adults who live, work, and care for them.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

Understand specific reasons why it is important for us to help change the “taboo” approach to dying, death, and grief in our society, particularly when it comes to youth mental health

Understand how the human brain develops, with a focus on the developmental stages of children and teens

Gain an appreciation for the uniqueness of each young person

Understand how developmental stages influence how young people relate to dying, death, and grief

Learn specific listening strategies that will encourage young people to trust and talk to you

Learn how to guide young people to empower them to find the best answers within themselves

Learn how to identify when a professional should be recommended to help a young person

TOPICS COVERED

Glossary of Terms

Grief

MAID (Medical Assistance in Dying) in Canada

Suicide

When Someone is Diagnosed/Dying

Resilience

Effective Listening and What to Listen For

Brain Development and Developmental Stages

Helping Young People Identify Emotions

Strategies to Engage Young People in Conversation