How Making Space for Grief Can Promote Community Healing
In Ashland, Oregon, a powerful movement to embrace grief as a means of community healing is coalescing. The town has faced many challenges—devastating fires, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the tragedy of racist police killings. Amidst the global outcry following the murder of George Floyd, another heartbreaking incident occurred in Ashland when a white man fatally shot a Black teenager named Aidan Ellison in November 2020.
Ashland resident Dani Leonardo, who works with the Ashland BIPOC Sanctuary (a safe space for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color), acutely felt the pain of this loss. Aidan was passionate about music, and his untimely death struck a chord with Dani, who finds solace in music. However, what saddened her most was the predominantly white community’s lack of a significant response to this tragedy.
The Ashland BIPOC Sanctuary, supported by the Rogue Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, emerged as a crucial support network for Black residents in the area and the wider Greater Rogue Valley community. As part of this healing process, Dani began working with grief-tending rituals and facilitation, learning from renowned psychotherapist Francis Weller, who emphasizes embracing grief as a natural response to caring and loving.
For Dani, grief-tending is akin to composting; Just as death nourishes new life in ecology, acknowledging grief enables transformative growth. The BIPOC Sanctuary began holding grief rituals, especially in response to the numerous racism-related deaths of Black and other BIPOC individuals. According to Dani, grief is an essential part of letting go and making space for new growth.
Beyond the BIPOC community, the devastating fires that struck the region also called for healing. Working with the fire recovery organization Mi Valle Mi Hogar / My Valley My Home, Dani organized listening circles for Latinx survivors of the fires. These weekly support groups provided a safe space for sharing experiences of loss and grief.
In the face of global challenges and collective grief, Dani emphasizes the need to destigmatize grief and embrace it as an intrinsic aspect of being human. By collectively recognizing and processing grief, communities can find strength, resilience, and unity to address the injustices and hardships of the world.
The efforts in Ashland serve as a model for communities worldwide, demonstrating the power of making space for grief and supporting one another in navigating trying times. We can foster a more empathetic and caring society by coming together to heal, listen, and show compassion.
🔭 This summary was human-edited with AI-assist.
