In late 2019 representatives from James Murray and the National Association for Loss and Grief (NALAG) launched an initiative to help support families and individuals in our Newcastle and Hunter community when they are experiencing loss and grief. The main driver for this initiative was that when people have suffered a traumatic event, they often feel overwhelmed by the number of issues that need addressing and do not know where to turn to find guidance. A second issue was that when they do find someone to turn to, such as a counsellor, funeral director or minister of religion, these people are often unaware of the nature or extent of the resources to support them. The End of Life Transition’s Network (ELTN) for the Newcastle and Hunter region seeks to bring together people from various segments of our community so that we can collaborate, network and share our knowledge and experience in the loss and grief area. We have representation from the religious and non-religious sectors, counsellors, health sectors including aged care, mental health, disability and palliative care, monumental and memorial consultants, funeral directors and more. Our network is multicultural and aims to ensure that services are inclusive and available to people within the community. Our aim is to build a community resource to identify solutions to the issues that confront people when they are often at their most vulnerable so that we can better support those in need of assistance, as well as each other.
