“Gathering. As human beings, that’s where our healing begins. Gathering, instead of isolating,” said Ted Wiard, a grief counselor in town this week. (Emily Kwong/KCAW photo)
Ted Wiard is a clinical therapist and certified grief counselor, who is hosting a gathering on community grief in Sitka this week. Wiard was joined by Zachary Desmond, Director of Programs at Braveheart Volunteers, and host Rich McClear. The three spoke about grief in Sitka following the August 18th landslide and how the community can heal.
Compared to other kinds of trauma, Wiard talks about how these landslides may be different for Sitka. “When something happens that’s so sudden, it shatters a community completely because our illusion of safety disintegrates.”
Wiard will be leading a gathering at Sheet’ka Kwaan Naa Kahidi on Thursday, September 3rd, from 6:30 to 8:00pm to share his work with communities responding to loss and facilitate a question and answer session from community members.
