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How to help a friend after a stillbirth

We’re taught what to do in all kinds of emergencies (think airplane crashes and earthquakes), but no-one teaches us what to do when the inevitable happens. No one teaches us what to do when someone we love, loses someone they love. October is Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month, which means we all have a good opportunity to learn.

A woman resting comfortably on a couch in a cozy sweater, quietly reading a supportive text message on her phone, representing accessible, low-energy grief support at home.

Bereavement4 min read

The overlooked reason people decline grief support

Wanting support and having the capacity to receive it are not the same thing." Why traditional support groups and counseling can feel impossible for exhausted grievers, and how to design care that actually meets them where they are.

Bereavement5 min read

New Bereavement Cost Calculator shows that grief is expensive

Health plans, particularly Medicare Advantage plans, are using the new bereavement cost calculator from Help Texts to estimate the true cost of bereavement and their cost savings when grief support is provided.

Bereavement4 min read

Supporting grieving employees: how the LCBO is leading the way in Canada

When Lilian Riad-Allen’s mom died in 2021, she felt as though everything she knew about the world was completely upended. Feeling lost, she sought out grief support and came across a company called Help Texts, which provided ongoing, expert bereavement care via text message. Lilian signed up for support from Help Texts and found the messages really helpful, with powerful reminders and suggestions, personalized and tailored to the loss of her mom. As the Senior Director for Workplace Health, Safety & Wellness at the LCBO, Lilian openly shared about her experience with grief, and before long, she found that others started sharing as well.

A silhouette of a person walking along a narrow concrete ledge next to water, surrounded by heavy mountain fog, symbolizing the complex and unresolved path of grieving a complicated relationship.

Grief3 min read

Grief is love with nowhere to go. Except when it isn't. Grieving a complicated relationship.

Grief is often called "love with nowhere to go"—but what if the relationship was painful, conflicted, or marked by harm? Explore why grieving a complicated relationship is different, and how to find self-compassion when your loss doesn't fit a tidy narrative.

A thoughtfully smiling professional sitting in a chair with a laptop, representing a benefits leader utilizing Help Texts for personalized grief resource matching.

Employee Support3 min read

94% of Help Texts subscribers are referred to additional resources matched to their loss. Here's why that matters.

Learn how Help Texts matches 94% of subscribers with personalized grief resources, improving care access and driving benefit utilization for organizations.

Employee Support4 min read

How the LCBO delivers grief support to 8,000+ employees across Ontario

How the LCBO offers a full year of personalized grief support to 8,000+ employees across Ontario, with three years of steady enrollment and sustained engagement.

A silhouette of a person sitting quietly by a large window looking out at the ocean, representing the quiet reflection needed when navigating what grief is and coping with loss.

Grief8 min read

What is grief?

Grief is a natural, multidimensional response to loss, not a problem to be solved. Explore what grief actually is, why your brain needs time to process it, and gentle ways to cope when you are simply trying to survive the day.

Help Texts graphic titled Why text? explaining that receiving texts increases dopamine and boosts motivation and well-being, with a line-drawn brain icon

Grief Support4 min read

Why choosing text was the best decision I could have made for grievers

When I first chose text messaging as the vehicle I'd use to build a global grief support platform, I thought it would be my MVP - something I could fund off the side of my desk while keeping my tech job. Text, I thought, was affordable, scalable, and nearly ubiquitous. Flash forward 10 years and I believe my decision to build a text messaging platform was the best decision I could possibly have made. I've learned a lot about the technology, psychology, neuroscience, and impact of text as a mental health intervention. Other technologies come and go, but everyone still loves text messages. Here's why.

A man sitting alone on a white chair looking to the side, coping with the loss of his wife and life partner.

Grief5 min read

Losing your wife or life partner

Grief looks different for everyone. There is no right way to do it, no timeline you need to keep.

Grief2 min read

Suppressing emotions in grief

Grief isn't just an emotional experience—it's a whole-body response. Supporting bereaved individuals means normalizing the full range of physical and emotional reactions they may experience.

Bereavement2 min read

The Ones Who Know Us Best: Sibling Losses

When a sibling dies, it's not just the physical separation. It's also the removal of daily moments. The calls, texts, laughs, and reassurances go away. It’s the conversations that only your sibling would understand, that are lost. For adults, losing a sibling means losing a retirement buddy, support taking care of aging parents, and the ability to share childhood memories. For children and adolescents, losing a sibling young can create losing a playmate and someone to read stories and share childhood with.

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