Canadian Grief Alliance | Solv Communications

Case Study

Canadian Grief Alliance

Rallying Support for Grieving Canadians and Health Workers

The Canadian Grief Alliance (CGA) is urging the government to adopt a proposal to address national gaps in grief services—which leaves Canadians unsupported in their times of grief.

The CGA consists of leading grief specialists plus over 150 national and provincial organizations including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and therapists, academics and groups providing grief services.

It is convened by the Canadian Virtual Hospice, an internationally recognized charitable organization with a track record of developing award-winning online resources that serves 2.4 million users annually.

In 2020, the Canadian Virtual Hospice, on behalf of CGA, contacted Solv Communications to get their important message to the nation.

In This Video

Paul Adams – Lead Advocate – Canadian Grief Alliance

The Challenge

Never in our lifetimes has Canada experienced the volume and complexity of grief as has resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Canadian Grief Alliance – a coalition of national leaders in grief and bereavement – is urging the Government of Canada to bolster the country’s grief services to meet the growing demand. Existing and recently announced mental health initiatives do not include grief services.

The CGA applauds the increased investments in mental health services, however, grief services are outside the scope of these programs and are falling through the cracks of the government’s response to COVID-19.

The CGA is calling for:

Development of a consultation-driven National Grief Strategy in the next 4 months to identify gaps, best practices, and priorities
Sustained and expanded grief services through a $100 million investment over three years to implement the National Grief Strategy
Launch of a national public awareness campaign to increase Canadians’ understanding of grief, promote healthy coping strategies, and build the capacity of individuals and communities to support grieving
Investment of $10 million in grief research to understand and respond to pandemic-related grief

Results & impact

By partnering with Solv, the CGA has raised awareness with the media and the public about grief, the impacts of the pandemic on grief, the need for investment to improve access to specialized grief services, and the misconception that investments in mental health flow through to grief services and programs.

Hundreds of media stories have been achieved with a combined reach of over 40 million.

Paul Adams, Lead Advocate, Canadian Grief Alliance

“Nicole Harris and the Solv team were a pleasure to work with. They were quick and efficient, attentive to both the deadlines of journalists and the availability of their clients. Solv Communications greatly increased our reach and impact in a campaign that was very time sensitive and mounted at short notice.”