20.05.2025
- Members of the entity’s +60 spaces participate in a new activity where grief takes center stage
- Understanding the grieving process, its stages, and the emotions it involves are the goals of this program, which will run, in this edition, until May 28.
May 19, 2025. Afundación, the Social Work of ABANCA, is launching a pioneering activity within the framework of its programs related to emotional awareness and management. This program emerged from the active listening by Afundación’s Seniors Area staff to the needs and interests expressed by members of its +60 spaces, and in collaboration with Matia Instituto. It is currently being held weekly in Ferrol, Santiago, Lugo, Viveiro, Pontevedra, and Ourense.
The Path of Grief
The goal of this program, designed in collaboration with Matia Instituto, is to work from a community-based approach on knowledge and skills related to managing the grieving process following the death of loved ones and other types of losses we may experience throughout life.
Its development was prompted by a need identified after evaluating the “Understanding Emotions” program, as well as from the analysis of feedback provided by participants over five editions and the facilitators who implemented it in the +60 spaces.
The program is aimed at anyone interested in reflecting on the impact that different types of loss have on our lives, sharing knowledge about the grieving process, individual experiences, and the lessons learned from these processes. As it is not a therapeutic program, participation is not recommended for individuals currently going through complex grief that requires professional help, as it was not designed for that purpose.
The program consists of four working sessions, with the aim of understanding the grieving process, its stages, and the emotions involved; reflecting on other types of losses experienced throughout our life cycle; understanding the relevance and meaning of rituals; and learning strategies to support someone going through grief.
The current program was previously tested in two +60 spaces: Santiago de Compostela and Ferrol. After implementation, the experiences and perceptions of participants and facilitators were collected to identify areas that did not work well or could be improved, and the final activity manual was redesigned accordingly.
Before implementing the program in the +60 spaces, five open sessions called “Death Café” were held in April. These were conceived as informal spaces to talk about death over coffee, testing members’ willingness to address and reflect on this topic, which is often considered taboo in our society. The high demand for spots and active participation exceeded expectations, highlighting the need for this initiative.
Throughout May, the program is being simultaneously implemented in the +60 spaces of Ferrol, Santiago de Compostela, Lugo, Viveiro, Pontevedra, and Ourense, with the intention of incorporating it into the regular programming of all +60 spaces in future editions.
More information is available in Afundación’s press room.