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Living Well with Loss and Change

Living well means finding comfort, connection, and purpose, even as life changes. It honours wishes, eases suffering and respects spiritual and cultural needs.

Living well also acknowledges that each life will one day end, inviting us to prepare gently by naming loss, sharing stories, and finding hope throughout life’s many milestones.

 

Wrapped in Comfort

A Palliative Approach centres you in care

A palliative approach honours the whole person — focusing not just on illness, but on what truly matters most to you and your family. It guides care by asking: What is most important to you right now?

Explore resources below

A Palliative approach supports living well at every stage of life.

It helps a person living with dementia and their care partners plan ahead, make choices that reflect personal values, and find resources that bring comfort and support — from care planning and community connections, to healthcare and legal documents.

Good Grief

Loss is a part of living

Living well means cherishing the good days and preparing for the more difficult ones. Along the way, moments of loss and grief are a natural part of life. Together, we can honour grief by naming it, normalizing it, and creating space for it — so you never have to navigate it alone.

Dementia Grief includes dealing with ongoing loss through to bereavement care.

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Each change brings a loss of one thing and the start of something new.

Transitions happen at all stages of life. Living with loss acknowledges that we have to put some things down to pick others up. As circumstances change, we are often required to put things down we want to hold onto. Making space to acknowledge the losses we experience as part of living helps us honour what matters to us, adapt with compassion for ourselves and others, and find meaning in the present moment.

Grief does not always need fixing — it needs room to be named and tended so that hope and comfort can gently return.

Mindfulness

Being present as a lifelong healthy practice

Mindfulness is a simple, therapeutic practice that invites us to pay kind and curious attention to what is happening in the present moment. It helps calm the mind and body, reduce stress, and create space to respond gently to whatever each day brings.

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For people living with dementia, mindfulness can offer moments of peace, help manage feelings of anxiety or overwhelm, and encourage connection to senses and surroundings. For care partners, mindfulness can be a powerful tool to care for your own well-being, prevent burnout, and stay grounded during times of change, loss, and grief.

Mindfulness doesn’t necessarily require special training or long sessions. It can be as simple as taking a few slow breaths, noticing sounds or textures, or sitting quietly with a comforting memory.

Mindfulness Programming and supports are available. Contact us for more information or to register.

Living well

Palliative Approach

A Palliative approach supports living well at every stage of life.

This book is about life changes. It is meant to help you prepare for possible changes, and to connect you with services in your community. It has suggestions and information about resources to help you. It is based on what people receiving palliative care, their families, and health care providers have told us.

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Advance care planning includes thinking about, talking about, and documenting the health and personal care you want now and in the future. It is for every adult at any point in life.

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This module explores what palliative care is and the types of support it offers.

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An Alzheimer Society brochure that explores the steps a person with dementia may wish to take after receiving a diagnosis of dementia.

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Being diagnosed under the age of 65 presents unique challenges and there are many topics to consider, including, finances, children, employment, and health wishes. Living with dementia can cause big changes in individuals and families future plans as many need to consider how life needs and wishes may change as a person’s dementia progresses. Since there is no cure or treatment and dementia is a progressive disease that can affect reasoning and communication it is important to plan for your future and ensure that others know how they can assist you with putting those plan into action, when needed.

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Past Events and Meetings

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Past Live Meeting

Taking Care of You: Anticipatory Grief, Ambiguous Grief, and the Importance of Self-Care

Join us for this presentation by Sarah Karesa , Grief Counsellor for Pilgrims Hospice, as she discusses exploring loss, exploring grief, different types of grief, and how care partners need to take care of themselves.

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Living well

Grief and Loss

Each change brings a loss of one thing and the start of something new.

The goal of this guide is to help you – whether a person living with dementia or a care partner – live and transform with loss and grief as you seek a place of greater acceptance, hope, and strength.

 

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Late Stage Session 5

Taking Care of You: Grief and Self Care – Part 2: Anticipatory Grief

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Past Events and Meetings

Discover more Events
Past Live Meeting

Taking Care of You: Anticipatory Grief, Ambiguous Grief, and the Importance of Self-Care

Join us for this presentation by Sarah Karesa, Grief Counsellor for Pilgrims Hospice, as she discusses exploring loss, exploring grief, different types of grief, and how care partners need to take care of themselves.

Learn More
Living well

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is a therapeutic practice that invites us to pay kind and curious attention to what is happening in the present moment

Guided meditations offer a simple, calming way to ground yourself during difficult moments. Whether you’re facing caregiver stress, emotional fatigue, or just need a moment of peace, these gentle audio sessions can help reduce anxiety, improve focus, and bring a sense of calm—even on the hardest days.

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Late Stage Session 5

Taking Care of You: Grief and Self Care – Part 4: Learning to Balance

View Session

Past Events and Meetings

Discover more Events
Past Live Meeting

The Art and Science of Mindful Aging presented by Dr. Thamarai Moorthy

Mindfulness is the ancient art of paying full attention to what is happening around us. Mindfulness can be practiced in many ways.

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For Care Partners

Caring for someone living with dementia can bring moments of love and meaning — and moments of deep fatigue, worry, and grief. You do not have to navigate this alone. These resources are here to help you feel supported, informed, and connected, every step of the way. Pausing to find resources, caring for yourself, and honouring the person you support living with dementia are all parts of being a care partner.nResources for Dementia Grief (Living with Loss), the Palliative Approach (wrapped in comfort), mindfulness, and bereavement support are available for you:

See All Resources
Past Live Meeting

Taking Care of You: Anticipatory Grief, Ambiguous Grief, and the Importance of Self-Care

Join us for this presentation by Sarah Karesa , Grief Counsellor for Pilgrims Hospice, as she discusses exploring loss, exploring grief, different types of grief, and how care partners need to take care of themselves.rn

Learn More
Explore Resources

For Healthcare Professionals

Healthcare Professionals play a vital role in helping people living with dementia and their care partners feel heard, comforted, and prepared for living well their whole lives long. Providing care that honours the whole person, supports families through change and loss, and fosters meaningful moments at every stage of the dementia journey is all of our work.

Apply a palliative approach early and throughout care

— focus on what matters most to the person and care partner, guiding decisions with comfort and dignity in mind, and ensuring supports are in place for changing needs

Recognize and name dementia grief

— help families understand that feelings of loss can begin even before diagnosis, and offer ways to talk about grief openly

Integrate mindfulness practices

— offer simple grounding techniques that can reduce stress and anxiety for people living with dementia and their care partners, and help everyone stay present in the moment

Provide gentle bereavement support

— when necessary connect families to resources and peer support
Past Live Meeting

Taking Care of You: Anticipatory Grief, Ambiguous Grief, and the Importance of Self-Care

Join us for this presentation by Sarah Karesa , Grief Counsellor for Pilgrims Hospice, as she discusses exploring loss, exploring grief, different types of grief, and how care partners need to take care of themselves.

Learn More

Visit the Memory Wall

Forget Me Not

We honour life stories and meaning-making with our virtual memory wall.