Bereaved Families of Ontario-Toronto
Healing Through Connection

Mission Statement

Bereaved Families of Ontario-Toronto is a volunteer based bereavement support organization that provides programs and services based on a mutual support model to individuals, families, groups and communities throughout the city of Toronto.

Our Beliefs

We honor and respect that family, social, cultural, and faith and life experiences affect how people grieve. Whether a loved one died from an illness, accident, murder or suicide, we believe that: 

• The deep grief an individual or family experiences following a death is normal
• Grief is a unique experience for every person
• Everyone carries within him or herself the capacity to heal
• Critical to the healing process is an emotionally safe space in which to grieve.

Organizational Goals Statement

• To be a community leader in the provision of mutual and peer-support bereavement services.
• To educate service users and the public on issues related to grief and bereavement.
• To be welcoming and accessible to all of the diverse communities in Toronto.
• To build integrated services and mutually beneficial strategic partnerships.
• To be an organization where learning, innovation and community are fostered.
• To connect individuals, families and communities to the organization in a vital, mutually beneficial way that responds to their unique needs.

Our Program Goals

We aim to assist people, without charge, in learning to live with the “new normal” of life following a death by:

• Providing a safe space in which to explore grief in whatever ways that works best for the person.
• Reducing the isolation of bereaved people by facilitating connections with other bereaved people.
• Normalizing the grief experience.
• Nurturing the resiliency of people to identify their own inner resources and coping strategies.

Our Values

We are a community of people who value:

Compassion

Authentically relating to one another with caring, empathy, openness and acceptance.

Mutual Support

Providing mirrors of hope for one another in a confidential, safe, supportive and nurturing environment. No one can understand the bereaved like another bereaved person.

Understanding

Respecting that while there are common threads that weave themselves among the bereaved, every person learns to live with grief in their own way.

Diversity

Celebrating and embracing the richness of unique and diverse life experiences. Our work must be framed within a context of equity and inclusion.

Integrity

Creating a safe and reliable space in which to grieve, through honesty and transparency. Our organization must be built on a foundation of mutual trust.

Relationships

Building and sustaining mutually beneficial connections with members, volunteers, donors and community partners.