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

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.

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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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Grief Support5 min read

How to support a grieving friend over text: Use the C.A.R.E. formula

When someone you love is grieving, it can feel impossible to know what to say. You don't want to say the wrong thing. You don't want to upset them.

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Bereavement4 min read

We’ve removed the last hurdle to grief support: Help Texts now has "Pay-As-You-Go Pricing"

Since our launch in 2018, Help Texts has been breaking down the barriers to grief support.

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Three smiling Camp Spero volunteers in matching t-shirts, arms around each other

Bereavement11 min read

I didn’t believe this was possible. My professional journey from seasoned skeptic to passionate believer in grief-informed texting.

As someone who had been providing direct care for many years at that point, I was really skeptical. You might say that my protective "mama bear" came out, and I immediately scoffed at the idea that people could feel supported by simple text messages, especially considering my years of sitting with people in their darkest moments.

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Illustration of two parents standing over an empty crib

Bereavement7 min read

Supporting families through loss: The need for bereavement care in fertility treatment

For the millions of intended parents pursuing fertility treatment, the journey toward parenthood often involves hope and anticipation but also profound loss and grief. While fertility clinics excel at providing medical interventions to help families conceive, many fall short in addressing the emotional aftermath when treatments don't succeed or pregnancies end in loss. Fertility clinics that recognize the inherent risk of disappointment and bereavement, and make it a priority to support their patients’ complete well-being with ongoing support, build trust with families, and optimize treatment outcomes, too.

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Quote graphic: Are we trying to build machines that are better than people — or are we trying to build machines that will help people become better? — Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft, May 2025

Grief Support8 min read

What AI and grief-bots can teach us about supporting grieving people

The lesson isn't that AI is replacing human connection, but rather that AI is showing us (or reminding us) exactly what human connection should look like. Every feature that makes grief-focused AI effective is something humans can do better, with the added benefit of genuine empathy, shared experience, and authentic, in-person care.

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Hospice3 min read

Help Texts now offers bereavement support to Canadian hospices

For more than five years, Help Texts has been working with hospices across the US to provide compassionate, clinically sound support to bereaved families. Now this support is available in Canada, and leaders at hospices including Canuck Place Children’s Hospice and Vancouver Hospice Society have adopted Help Texts as a new way to provide year-long support to the families in their care.

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Process

Our clinical review process

Written by experts

Our writers are advocates or experts in the grief space.

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Every article goes through clinical review before it publishes.

Updated regularly

Our articles are constantly updated as research changes.

Our editorial team

Writers, editors, and clinicians dedicated to thoughtful mental health and grief content

Blog

Recent blogs

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

What is Thanatology

5 strategic reasons your donation organization should implement Help Texts for donor family aftercare

Grief is a Public Health Emergency

Honoring lives, not just losses: supporting overdose grief

Locks of Legacy 2025

How to support a grieving friend over text: Use the C.A.R.E. formula

We’ve removed the last hurdle to grief support: Help Texts now has "Pay-As-You-Go Pricing"

I didn’t believe this was possible. My professional journey from seasoned skeptic to passionate believer in grief-informed texting.

Supporting families through loss: The need for bereavement care in fertility treatment

What AI and grief-bots can teach us about supporting grieving people

Help Texts now offers bereavement support to Canadian hospices

Our clinical review process

Our editorial team

Emma Payne

Melissa Lunardini

Rah Adams

Jessica Correa