Nova Scotia Hospice Palliative Care Association

06/04/2026

We're at the CCANS Conference!

The Nova Scotia Hospice Palliative Care Association is pleased to be attending the @ Continuing Care Association of Nova Scotia Conference, connecting with healthcare professionals, community partners, and leaders from across Nova Scotia.

Stop by our booth to learn more about our work in hospice palliative care, grief support, emotional wellness, the Healing Pathways Community Funding Grants, and the Healing Pathways – Grieving Well™ online directory.

06/03/2026

Reminder:

Eastern Region Roundtable

📅 June 12, 2026
📍 Shannon Studio, Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre
🕙 10:00 AM – 3:30 PM AST

Registration closes June 5th. We encourage everyone interested to register early.

🔗 Register now: www.nsgriefalliance.com/events

06/02/2026

Upcoming Advance Care Planning Workshops – New Minas & Coldbrook

Have you thought about who would speak for you if you couldn't speak for yourself?

The Nova Scotia Hospice Palliative Care Association invites you to attend one of our upcoming Advance Care Planning Workshops and learn how to make your healthcare wishes known.

These free community workshops will help you:

✅ Understand Advance Care Planning
✅ Communicate your wishes to loved ones and healthcare providers
✅ Learn how to encourage others to create an Advance Care Plan
✅ Explore tools and resources to document your preferences

📍 New Minas Workshop
🗓 June 17, 2026
🕙 10:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
📍 Orchard Valley Church, 130 Cornwallis Avenue, New Minas

📍 Coldbrook Workshop
🗓 June 27, 2026
🕑 2:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
📍 East Coast Memorial, 34 Coldbrook Village Park Drive, Coldbrook

Planning ahead can provide peace of mind for you and your loved ones and help ensure your wishes and choices are understood and respected.

Register today:
https://form.jotform.com/260575962916267

Please share with family, friends, and community members who may benefit from this important conversation.

Please click the link to complete this form.

06/01/2026

Reminder: Annual Survey Closes June 8

There is still time to share your feedback through the Nova Scotia Grief Alliance Annual Survey. If you haven't already completed it, we invite you to take 5–10 minutes to do so before the June 8 deadline:

Survey: https://form.jotform.com/261305275097256
Your feedback helps us better understand how our programs, events, and resources are supporting individuals, organizations, and communities across Nova Scotia. It also helps identify opportunities to strengthen future programming, improve accessibility, and ensure our work continues to meet the needs of those engaged in grief support.

Please note: Participation is welcome whether or not you attended Alliance events this past year. All responses are anonymous and results will be reported in aggregate form only.
To learn more about the Alliance's work over the past year, we also encourage you to review our Annual Review:

Annual Review: https://www.nsgriefalliance.com/resources-1
Thank you for taking the time to share your perspective and support the continued growth of the Nova Scotia Grief Alliance.

Please click the link to complete this form.

05/27/2026

📣 Registration Deadline Extended!

There’s still time to join us for the Nova Scotia Grief Alliance Eastern Region Roundtable. The registration deadline has been extended to June 5, 2026.

We look forward to bringing together community members, professionals, and partners for a meaningful day of conversation, learning, and connection focused on grief, music, and community.

📍 June 12, 2026
📍 Shannon Studio, Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre

Register today: nsgriefalliance.com/events

Through virtual education, regional roundtables, and our province-wide grief symposium, the Nova Scotia Grief Alliance brings people together to share knowledge, experiences, and support.

05/25/2026

📢 SAVE THE DATE + CALL FOR ABSTRACTS 📢

The Nova Scotia Grief Alliance is excited to announce the date and location for the 2026 Nova Scotia Grief Alliance Symposium.

📅 November 20, 2026
📍 Best Western Plus Dartmouth, 15 Spectacle Lake Drive, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

🟢 Theme: Mobilizing Grief: Building Networks of Care
The symposium will bring together practitioners, researchers, community organizations, people with lived experience, and others engaged in grief support and bereavement care across Nova Scotia.

By attending the symposium, participants will have opportunities to:

• Learn how others have designed grief support programs in creative and impactful ways
• Build connections and relationships across sectors and communities
• Share knowledge and promising practices
• Hear new insights about grief work in Nova Scotia

📣 CALL FOR ABSTRACTS
The Nova Scotia Grief Alliance welcomes submissions that align with the symposium theme: Mobilizing Grief: Building Networks of Care.

We invite submissions for:
• Oral presentations
• Workshops and skill-building sessions
• Creative or experiential sessions (e.g., art, music, storytelling)

We especially encourage submissions that highlight collaborative approaches to grief support, innovative and creative programming, practices related to ritual, memorial, and ceremony, culturally grounded perspectives and lived experiences, and recent or emerging research related to grief and bereavement.

The Call for Abstracts opens May 25 and closes July 6, 2026.
To learn more about abstract guidelines or to submit an abstract, please visit: nsgriefalliance.com/grief-symposium

Full symposium details and registration information will be shared soon.

📧 Contact: [email protected]

We hope you will join us for this important opportunity to connect, learn, and strengthen networks of care across Nova Scotia.

05/21/2026

We’re excited to announce that Meaghan Jackson will be joining us as a presenter for the Nova Scotia Grief Alliance Eastern Region Roundtable on June 12 in Port Hawkesbury.

Meaghan’s presentation, “From Loss to Lament: The Use of Songwriting as an Expression of Grief on Cape Breton Island,” will explore the powerful connection between grief, music, storytelling, and community.

This roundtable will bring together community members, professionals, and organizations for meaningful conversations around grief, emotional wellness, and connection.

📅 June 12, 2026
📍 Shannon Studio, Port Hawkesbury Civic Centre
🕙 10:00 AM – 3:30 PM AST

Registration closes May 28th. We encourage everyone interested to register early.

🔗 Register now: www.nsgriefalliance.com/events

05/19/2026

Registration is still open for Living Well, Leaving Well: Conversations on End-of-Life and Grief - a meaningful community gathering focused on honouring African Nova Scotian perspectives around grief, emotional wellness, and advance care planning.

Join speaker Danita Williams as she explores “The Strength Myth: Unspoken Pain in the Black Community,” a powerful conversation about how expectations of strength can silence grief, vulnerability, and emotional pain. Participants will also engage in discussions about Advance Care Planning and the importance of creating space for grief support within our communities.

📅 Saturday, May 23, 2026
🕙 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
📍 New Horizons Baptist Church, Halifax

Hosted by the Nova Scotia Hospice Palliative Care Association.

Spaces are limited - register at https://form.jotform.com/253383891767271

Scan the QR code on the poster or contact [email protected] for more information.

05/13/2026

As part of our annual reflection and review, we invite you to complete our short annual survey (approximately 5–10 minutes): https://form.jotform.com/261305275097256

The survey will help us:
- Understand how our offerings are supporting individuals, organizations, and communities.
- Identify opportunities to strengthen future programming and collaboration.
- Improve accessibility and relevance of our initiatives
- Ensure our work continues to meet the needs of those engaged in grief support.

Please note:
Participation in the annual survey is welcomed whether or not you attended Alliance events this past year. Responses are anonymous and findings will be shared in aggregate form only.

Thank you for taking the time to share your perspective and support the ongoing growth of the Nova Scotia Grief Alliance.

Also, to access our Annual Review, please visit https://www.nsgriefalliance.com/resources-1

05/11/2026

What an incredible two days at NSHPCA Conference 2026!

On behalf of the Nova Scotia Hospice Palliative Care Association, thank you to everyone who attended, presented, exhibited, volunteered, and helped make this year’s conference such a meaningful success. With attendance doubling from last year, this became the largest palliative care conference in Atlantic Canada - a reflection of the growing commitment to compassionate, collaborative, and innovative care across our communities.

From thoughtful conversations and inspiring presentations to new connections and shared learning, we are grateful to everyone who helped create such a welcoming and engaging environment.

A special thank you to our sponsors for your generous support and partnership. Your contributions helped make this event possible and continue to strengthen palliative care, grief support, and education across Nova Scotia.

If you didn’t get a chance to complete the conference evaluation survey, we would greatly appreciate your feedback. Please fill out the survey using the link below or scan the QR code in the image.

https://forms.cloud.microsoft/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=OHxZmsrvC0W799zF2RM96I9sbyfKVuhOnkfIRBy_lgJURFlYRlRJTDhYSjBVTjZWSTFCMTNFNFg2NS4u

Thank you for being part of this growing community. Safe travels home, and we look forward to seeing you again next year! 💜4