The Lighthouse Beacon Podcast

Episode #5: Supporting Children‘s Grief Within Immigrant and Refugee Populations of Southern Ontario

Southern Ontario has become one of the most multiculturally diverse regions in the world, due in part to populations of immigrants and refugees choosing to make this geographical area their home. In this episode we are honoured to be joined by Ms. Margarita Cardona, who is the Community Settlement Program Coordinator for the Halton Multicultural Council as she shares with us her knowledge and insights into some of the challenges such demographics of people face when navigating a loss while trying to settle in this great land.

Join us to hear Ms. Cardona’s wisdom and wealth of experience!  

Episode #4: Children‘s Grief From an Islamic and Intergenerational Perspective

The Islamic communities of Southern Ontario are amongst the largest and fastest growing demographics. With rich heritages that span across 72 sects, Muslims are exceptionally diverse within their own communities. Joining us on this podcast is Asif Khan, a very involved leader within his Ahmadiyya Muslim community, who shares his experiences and wisdom beginning as a bereaved child of 6 years old, and later in life, as a bereaved father with three children. Asif speaks to how children’s grief is supported within Muslim communities, as well as what further support can be fostered within the intergenerational component of broader Islamic communities.

Join us for an enlightening podcast and informative podcast!

Episode #3: Youth Grief in Multicultural Communities

Southern Ontario is thought to host the most diverse demographic of peoples in the world. However, within this geography culturally humble grief services, especially for children and youth, are sparse, and in most cases not aligned with the personal culture of those seeking support. In this podcast we are joined by Danielle Francesca Lobo, who is the founder of The Healing Boat Inc., and is currently the Youth Bereavement Coordinator with Scarborough Centre for Healthy Communities. In this episode she gracefully shares her insights, thoughts, and wisdom regarding youth grief within multicultural communities. She also speaks about the youth bereavement program she began and facilitates with SCHC that utilizes a multicultural and multi-faith approach to death and grief. Danielle also sheds light on grief as it relates to intergenerational trauma, the legacy of ancestry, and what she calls ‘death by racism’.

Join us for an inspiring and deeply insightful episode!

Episode #2: Children's Grief in 2SLGBTQ+ Communities

Equitable access to children's grief is an imperative across all domains of diversity. However there is still much apprehension, discrimination, and lack of appropriate services within grief support for the 2SLGBTQ+ community. In this episode we are joined by Ian Hopkins, a Lighthouse Group Facilitator, and Marcus Logan, a queer married man with two beautiful sons who shares his early experiences as a bereaved child, his father dying when he was 6 years old. With a 20 year history in his community as an educator, advocate, and disrupter of systemic/homo/bi/transphobia in the Children's Mental Health Systems, Marcus also speaks to some of the challenges of queer youth seeking appropriate and aligned grief support. Having an adopted son who is Anishnawbe, Marcus also speaks to the plight of many Indigenous peoples within social services, as well as his experience witnessing the grief and trauma with the discovery of the remains of 215 children buried at the Kamloops residential School. 

Join us for an engaging, and enlightening episode!

 

Episode #1: Welcome to Lighthouse!

Welcome to the Lighthouse Beacon Podcast. In this our very first episode, our Executive Director, Deirdre Thomas, speaks to Lighthouse's programs and services, the peer support model it utilizes, and the outreach it has conducted into our Multicultural communities within the Greater Toronto Area. Deirdre also speaks to aspects of diversity and the associated barriers that may exist within children's grief support. Join us for an engaging and informative episode!