Missing Them, a 2021-22 Magic Grant and collaboration between the Brown Institute for Media Innovation, THE CITY, and the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, reached back to more than 1,000 people who submitted stories to their online obituaries page and interviewed dozens of them on what’s helping them cope with losing loved ones. Now, THE CITY has published some of these interviews and strategies.
“When you’re experiencing a certain degree of sadness that one feels when someone dear and close has transitioned [died], you want to isolate yourself in some way,”, says Migdalia Torres, one of the community organizers interviewed in the piece. “Staying connected with others, whether it be family, friends, professional support, individual counseling, all of that can really help you. It helps you share that grief and not feel so alone in order to progress and move forward through your pain.”
Others suggest sharing memories of loved ones, be it through conversations or on social media, or even through writing on a journal. “It’s cathartic to allow yourself to express yourself without worrying about spelling or grammar, or who is going to read it,” says Hillary Porter, who lost her husband Lloyd Cornelious Porter. “You can burn the pages. It’s a helpful release.”
For more strategies, as well as for a list of support groups and hotlines, read the full piece on THE CITY.
Congratulations to the Missing Them team for their important reporting!