Park Memorial Ltd. Funeral Home
Unique aftercare events focus on grief expression through creativity
A family-owned business since 1941, Park Memorial has always placed importance on family, community and personal service. Three generations of the Smolyk Family have led the organization since 1941: founder Tod, his son Jerry, and now Jerry’s daughter Kirstie. With the passing of Jerry in 2017, Kirstie and her Park Memorial family of staff, in grieving Jerry’s loss, realized how important it was to further develop their work within the field of aftercare.
To that end, in January 2018, Park Memorial launched ‘Art for the Grieving Heart’, a unique series of events focusing on grief expression through art therapy and informal conversation. These events have been very well received as “A welcoming event for those experiencing the pain and sorrow of loss, in a safe creative space where alternative healing can occur through art.”
Far more than an art class, the intention of these events is to bring together those who are grieving for an evening of connecting through creativity. Through the exploration of an art form that ties into grief, guests can free their minds, connecting with different emotions through tactile art. They are then able to transition softly to informal conversation, facilitated by a local grief expert.
January 26, 2019 will see Park Memorial host ‘Finding Grace in Grief ’, a full-day grief support event offering practical, easy to implement tools and strategies to help ease grief’s burden. The day will be comprised of keynote addresses and breakout sessions; some of the topics to be covered include practising self-compassion while grieving, writing for grief release, and the expression of grief through photography.
For further information and to attend any of our aftercare events, please visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/parkmemorial and click on events, or call Kristi Hammond, Public Relations Coordinator at 780-426-0050/1-877-426-0050.