We support programs that address grief and loss. We evaluate how effective they are and tell the world that grief and loss are real. We do this through reports, publications, and presentations.
In the last two months, we have lost two of our colleagues. These are people we have known for more than a decade--they influenced our work, taught us how to navigate difficult situations, showed us humility.
The first team calls after they passed away were rough. There was a silence and missingness that we could not fill. I know one thing for sure: when we lose our team members, the grief we experience, and the loss we feel are real.
Looking ahead, we know that the current COVID-19 pandemic has changed much of how we do our work. We are not in communities, meeting in-person, or having large gatherings, meals, or presentations. We are in our homes, doing our best to support one another through these challenging times. When I think about our relatives and colleagues we have lost, I know that their spirit and what we learned from them continues to be part of our work; it does not go away just because they are no longer here. This is what we can hold on to as we move into a new future and new way of thinking about our work and everything in it.