Recognizing the support members and families facing the loss of a loved one in the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) need in their journey through grief, the HOPE program was created in 2006. Our program aims to provide social support assistance to CAF members, active or retired, and military families through individual and confidential peer support. HOPE matches trained peer volunteers, who have experienced the grieving process from losing someone in the CAF, to members and families.
Bereaved individuals who have experienced the loss of a loved one often believe that they are alone in their suffering. By sharing and discussing their experience with other people with similar experiences, they connect with a community that understands what they’re going through and gives them an opportunity to talk about their grief without reservation. As there is no time limit to receive support, HOPE will provide it as long as the peer needs it. The individual can also enter the program at any time in their grief process.
HOPE peer support volunteers support the member and/or family through empathy, sharing self-care and coping strategies, providing education on grief, encouraging change and normalizing feelings. They aim to increase the peer’s confidence in their ability to cope with their loss and their hope in the possibility of regaining health, wellbeing, quality of life and resilience. HOPE volunteers can show their peers that it is possible to live with the loss, and that it is okay to be changed by their experience.
People don’t get over their grief, as they don’t go back to the way they were. They go forward to whom they have become as a result of their loss. This is where HOPE comes in, by supporting them during this life transition.
If you are part of the CAF and have lost someone, or you are a family member of a CAF member who passed away, and are in need of support, don’t hesitate to reach out to us at 1-800-883-6094 or through our positional mailbox HOPE-ESPOIR@forces.gc.ca
