AIDS Bereavement and Resiliency Program of Ontario

Supporting People, Strengthening Communities, Building Resilience

ABRPO responds to the complex and lasting impact of HIV/AIDS and Substance-Use related grief and loss for Organizations, Workers, Peers and Volunteers.

We recognize that grief is not experienced in isolation. It can affect individuals, relationships, workplaces, organizations, and entire communities, particularly when loss is shaped by HIV, substance use, overdose, stigma, trauma, changing health, or other experiences of loss and transition.

Our work supports people and organizations in navigating grief and loss while strengthening the skills, connections, compassion, and resilience needed to move forward. Through education, peer support, facilitation, and community-based approaches, we help build spaces where lived experience is valued, harm reduction is respected, and people can find meaningful ways to survive and thrive.

What We Do

We work alongside organizations and communities to:

• Strengthen individual and organizational resilience by assessing and enhancing coping strategies related to grief, loss, change, and transition.
• Build knowledge and capacity through evidence-informed workshops, educational presentations, training, agency interventions, and research initiatives grounded in bereavement expertise.
• Develop stronger Peer support and communication by providing innovative training that builds facilitation, communication, support, and community resilience skills.
• Respond to a changing landscape of loss by developing creative, relevant, and sustainable approaches that reflect the diverse and evolving experiences of communities impacted by HIV, harm reduction, and grief.
• Support organizations through change by helping workers, volunteers, and leadership recognize and respond to the impact of grief and loss within their workplaces and communities.

How We Work

Our work is grounded in the belief that effective support must be both informed and deeply human. We believe our work must be:

• Grounded in solid theory. Informed by established knowledge, evidence, and best practices in grief, bereavement, resilience, adult learning, and Peer engagement.
• Shaped by lived experience. The knowledge and experiences of the people we work with are essential to understanding loss and developing meaningful responses.
• Connected to the whole person. Grief does not exist in a vacuum. We consider the broader life experiences, relationships, identities, histories, and circumstances that shape how people experience loss and transition.
• Rooted in equity and inclusion. We recognize that grief and loss are experienced differently across communities, and that stigma, discrimination, systemic inequities, and social conditions can profoundly shape those experiences.
• Built on human capacity. We believe in people’s unique capacity to survive, adapt, thrive, connect, and create meaning – even in the face of profound loss.

Creating Lasting Impact

ABRPO works with organizations to design responsive workshops, train paid and unpaid workers, strengthen Peer engagement, and help leadership assess and enhance individual, organizational, and community resilience. Our work supports:

• Workers: To build and sustain the capacity to provide compassionate, effective, and high-quality services while navigating the emotional demands of grief, loss, change, and transition.
• Peers and Communities: To meaningfully participate in the development and delivery of programs and services through GIPA/MIPA, while strengthening community understanding and responsiveness to the diverse experiences and needs of people affected by HIV, overdose and ongoing cumulative loss.
• Organizations/Agencies: To remain responsive, effective, and resilient in the face of significant loss, change, and transition, while ensuring that GIPA/MIPA is meaningfully put into practice through people-centered approaches that strengthen participation, resilience, and community well-being.

From Loss to Resilience

At the heart of our work is a simple belief: people and communities should not have to navigate grief and loss alone.

By bringing together knowledge, lived experience, compassion, and practical tools, ABRPO helps organizations and communities build the capacity to respond to loss – not simply by enduring it, but by finding ways to adapt, connect, heal, and move forward together.

Click here to visit the ABRPO website and to learn more about ABRPO services