Help me become a Grief Support Specialist!
Donation protected
Hello. For some time I've felt called to be of service for those who are grieving or going through sad or traumatic times. Last year I became a NYS Certified Peer Support Specialist, and since have worked evenings as part of a 'Mobile Crisis Unit' - going to people's homes who are suicidal or experiencing other mental health crisis. Simultaneously I'm in an internship at Albany Medical Center as a chaplain-in-training, being with people in the hospital at some of their most challenging times: in the face of serious illness, at the deathbed of a loved one, after life-changing traumatic events.
In September, as my chaplaincy internship wraps up, I want to take another step: to become a Grief Support Specialist. The program, offered online through University of Wisconsin Madison, will provide me with a certification that will allow me to continue to build what I consider an emergent model of care outside of traditional counseling or social work.
I have a vision that communities might develop methods for interdependence that do not solely rely on the institutions currently codified by society. I believe that as individuals we all have so much to offer each other..and I would love to be a person whose experience and training makes me someone to whom the sad and grieving might come, perhaps outside of a clinical setting.
I know that there are some of you, my friends and family, who I have not shown up for in your darkest moments. I recognize these gaps and consider them to be my greatest failures. To you I am so sorry, and I hold my failures very seriously, and am making conscious efforts to become strong in the places I was weak.
To those of you who I have stood beside, please help me to grow my skills so that I can continue to be of service to others.
I am hoping to raise just the cost of the course - $1,295.
Please chip in if you fell called to support this growth.
Thank you,
Kevin
In September, as my chaplaincy internship wraps up, I want to take another step: to become a Grief Support Specialist. The program, offered online through University of Wisconsin Madison, will provide me with a certification that will allow me to continue to build what I consider an emergent model of care outside of traditional counseling or social work.
I have a vision that communities might develop methods for interdependence that do not solely rely on the institutions currently codified by society. I believe that as individuals we all have so much to offer each other..and I would love to be a person whose experience and training makes me someone to whom the sad and grieving might come, perhaps outside of a clinical setting.
I know that there are some of you, my friends and family, who I have not shown up for in your darkest moments. I recognize these gaps and consider them to be my greatest failures. To you I am so sorry, and I hold my failures very seriously, and am making conscious efforts to become strong in the places I was weak.
To those of you who I have stood beside, please help me to grow my skills so that I can continue to be of service to others.
I am hoping to raise just the cost of the course - $1,295.
Please chip in if you fell called to support this growth.
Thank you,
Kevin
Organizer
Kevin Lovelady
Organizer