Your Path to Healing Starts Here
At This Thing Called Grief, we understand that your experience of loss is as unique as you are, touching every part of life in ways that are personal and profound.
Our team is here to support you—whether you’re dealing with the heartbreak of losing a loved one or navigating the quieter, yet deeply impactful, life transitions that can change everything.
Welcome!
We are dedicated to helping individuals navigate the often overwhelming journey of grief and loss.
Discover
Discover below some of the types of grief, loss, and bereavement we often help individuals and families work through.
Death or Loss of a Child
Chronic Illness and Terminal Diagnoses
Loss of a Spouse or Partner
Bereavement After Sudden Loss
Loss Through Divorce or Separation
Loss of Identity or Lifestyle Due to Illness or Disability
Grieving the Death or Loss of a Pet
Collective or Community Grief
Loss Due to Immigration or Relocation
If you’re experiencing any of these challenges, know that you don’t have to face them alone.
This Thing Called Grief is here to walk with you through every step, offering compassionate support tailored to your unique journey.
Please reach out to us—we’re here to listen, support, and help you find a path forward that honours your experience and brings you peace.
Discover the Benefits We Offer
Personalized Support
Compassionate Listening
Holistic Approach
Porchlight Night-time Support
Non-Clinical Peer Support
This Thing Called Grief: The Porchlight Program “Grief doesn’t make appointments.” | “Like a friend in the night.”
The Porchlight Program offers short-term, peer-based support during the hours when grief often feels heaviest and support is hardest to find. Whether you are missing someone, sitting with difficult memories, or simply needing a human presence in the quiet of the night, we offer compassionate listening and steady presence — like a light left on for you.
This is peer support only, not counselling, psychotherapy, or clinical care. No clinical notes are kept. Our role is not to fix, diagnose, or treat — it is simply to be with you, to listen, and to hold space with care and respect.
Grief can feel isolating, unpredictable, and deeply personal. We honour that every person grieves differently, and we meet you wherever you are in your process — whether your loss is recent, long-standing, complicated, or hard to put into words.
Availability: Nightly, 9:00 p.m. – 3:00 a.m. Session Options: • 15 minutes — $40 • 30 minutes — $75
Sessions can be booked in the moment if space is available.
Important: The Porchlight Program is not crisis care or emergency support. If you are in immediate distress or feel unsafe, please contact your local crisis line or emergency services.
Struggling with grief and loss?
Find compassionate support and guidance here.
At This Thing Called Grief, we understand the unique challenges that come with bereavement and loss. Our dedicated team of social workers and specialists are here to provide personalized, empathetic care tailored to your needs. Let us help you navigate your journey towards healing and hope.
Meet Our Compassionate Practitioners
Offering heartfelt support through life's most challenging moments.
Mr. Sam Vander Schelde
BSW, MSW, RSW, Thanatologist
Social Work BSW RSW, Social Work BSW, MSW, RSW, Thanatologist
Sam offers a warm, non-judgmental space for men, fathers, women, and families to explore grief, loss, identity, and life transitions in ways that feel safe, grounded, and authentic. With a deep understanding of masculine grief and the pressures many men carry to stay strong, he helps fathers and men express vulnerability, process complex emotions, and redefine strength on their own terms. He also supports women and mothers through the layered emotional demands of grief, providing compassionate validation and practical tools for healing. Drawing on his background in social work and thanatology, Sam focuses on building resilient, trusting relationships that empower individuals and families to grow, reconnect with purpose, and move forward with greater emotional clarity and confidence.
Mrs. Kimberley Vander Schelde
Grief, Bereavement and Loss Specialist
Grief, Loss, & Learning Thanatology Specialist, The Porchlight Program - Night-time Non-Clinical Grief Support
Kim Vander Schelde (she/her) is a dedicated grief, bereavement, and loss specialist serving individuals across Canada with deep empathy and compassionate care. Grounded in both professional expertise and lived experience, Kim specializes in supporting parents of children diagnosed with cancer and brings personal insight shaped by infertility, partner loss, life with a first responder, suicide, life-limiting illness, and experiences with crime. She offers a safe, steady space for people to feel heard, understood, and supported—especially when other supports feel unavailable or insufficient—providing thoughtful presence, genuine connection, and hope during life’s most difficult moments
Mrs. Sarah Pollard
BSW, RSW
Social Work BSW RSW
Sarah is a compassionate, trauma-informed Registered Social Worker with over 20 years of experience supporting individuals through life transitions, loss, and emotional challenges. She provides strengths-based, solution-focused counselling informed by CBT, along with practical resource navigation during vulnerable times. Sarah works with adults and individuals across the lifespan, offering care for concerns including anxiety, depression, grief and bereavement, infertility and miscarriage loss, palliative care, relationship challenges, emotional regulation, and cognitive changes. Her passion lies in creating a safe, supportive space where people can process grief, build resilience, and move gently from struggle toward healing.
Navigate Grief with Compassion and Support
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