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What Actually Mattered in 2025

Everything became uncertain in 2025. But, as in grief, challenges can often give us a chance to test our mettle. When things turn upside down, we see what we’re capable of, and what our teams and companies are capable of, too.

Pyramid diagram of a public health approach to grief: Level 0 societal grief literacy and awareness at the base, then Level 1 general support and information, Level 2 extra support, and Level 3 therapy support at the top

Bereavement9 min read

The Swiss Army Knife Approach to Grief Support: Why One Size Never Fits All

Adopting a Swiss Army knife approach means embracing a public health approach to grief care that recognizes different levels of need and different points of entry.

Bereavement2 min read

Help Texts: Radical Bravery In Action

Radical bravery means showing up for the hardest conversations, meeting people in their darkest moments, and refusing to let anyone navigate death or grief alone—especially those whom our systems have overlooked.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Graphic with a line-drawn skull icon and the word Thanatology, defining it as the study of death, dying, and bereavement

Bereavement2 min read

What is Thanatology

Among the million things I (embarrassingly) didn't know in 2016 when I started working on Help Texts (we were called Grief Coach back then), is that there's an incredible field of study called Thanatology, and that the world is full of (IMO undervalued) Thanatologists who make the end of life experience better. Much better.

Grief5 min read

5 Strategic Reasons Your Donation Organization Should Implement Help Texts for Donor Family Aftercare

After the complex logistics of organ, tissue, or eye donation, donor families begin their grief journey, often with limited ongoing support. As donation leaders face increasing pressure to provide comprehensive aftercare while managing tight budgets and staff resources, Help Texts offers a proven solution that transforms your aftercare program's reach, effectiveness, and cost efficiency.

Quote graphic reading Grief is not a niche

Grief6 min read

Grief is a Public Health Emergency

Grieving people are everywhere. Support isn’t. It’s time for that to change. We’re asking healthcare systems, policymakers, and funders to stop treating grief like a footnote. Unlike with other public health issues, such as obesity, we know the exact moment when someone becomes bereaved. We know when a death is registered, when a funeral home files paperwork, when Social Security or the IRS reaches out. Vital Records Offices, coroners, and medical examiners all play a role after someone dies. But where’s the grief support?

Bereavement4 min read

Honoring Lives, Not Just Losses: Supporting Overdose Grief

When someone dies of an overdose, grief is often met with silence or stigma. On Overdose Awareness Day, let us remember that addiction is a disease, not an identity, and every life lost deserves compassion.

A speaker at a podium on a darkened stage, with photos of a young donor projected on a large screen behind her and an audience seated at tables

Bereavement3 min read

Locks of Legacy 2025

Two weeks ago I had the honor of traveling to Sacramento, to speak with 400 family members whose loved ones died last year. In their deep grief they decided that their loved ones would become tissue and organ donors.

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