The Shine a Light resource guide is a tool to help families and communities unite around the effort to honor lives lost and comfort those who mourn. It can easily be shared so that more and more families, faith communities, and neighborhood and civic organizations can incorporate Shine a Light in their own gatherings.
We have all had enough isolation. Going forward together is a more intentional commitment than just “going on.” We don’t have to wait for big events formal events to memorialize the thousands of lives lost. Authentic memorialization and addressing grief can begin with a candle, a commitment and a small circle of people
If we participate in shared actions within our families, neighborhoods or faith communities, we unite around a shared purpose of healing and compassion.
We can use photos and social media to share our participation and increase the visibility of and broaden the community of support for people dealing with grief.
Grief and loss are hard—and even harder in a time of isolation. We can actively tend to our own grief and learn ways to support people who are in mourning so we can all heal. Our resource guide contains links to information about health, grief support and mental wellness.
It offers ways to reflect on people we lost, consider the scope of loss and grief that people are experiencing, and take steps toward memorialization and sharing stories that honor loss and support healing. Skipping over the grieving process to “just move on” never works.
We can take action to talk about grief and send the message that no one should go it alone.
The 12, 000+ Alabamians lost to COVID-19* is the equivalent of experiencing 30 commercial jet plane crashes with no survivors in a 17-month period.
If we understand the depth of this tragedy—we know the value of going forward together in purposeful ways to strengthen our communities and address vulnerabilities and gaps in healthcare and safety nests that made Alabama’s death rate so high. This is the chance to build a legacy for those we lost—one that endures into the future.
Our guide connects you to community engagement that can make our communities stronger, more resilient, and more just.
*since January 2020 – CDC data