Peer Grief Support Service Framework:
A Human-Centered Design Approach
by Peer Support Community Partners
Grief touches every community, yet too often, it is left unspoken, unsupported, or pushed to the margins, especially when it is a stigmatized loss. Whether rooted in sudden loss, long illness, violence, caregiving, systemic inequities, or the everyday accumulation of sorrow, grief is part of the human experience. And it doesn't just affect individuals—it shapes how communities relate, heal, and move forward.
Yet most systems are not built to hold that grief.
Traditional grief support often falls short. It can be seen as too clinical, narrow, or disconnected from the cultural, spiritual, and relational ways people process loss. Peer grief support offers a robust, relational response. It creates space for shared healing, strengthens community resilience, and improves the ability of organizations to show up with compassion, stability, and sustainability, even in the most challenging moments.
Our Approach
Using Human Centered Design strategies, we begin by getting to know your organization, understanding your unique needs, goals, and the communities you serve. This foundational step allows us to tailor our support and recommendations to align with your mission. Once we have developed a clear understanding of your objectives, we can recommend existing program paths (see below) or we can start working on a proposal for a completely customized program path(s).
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1. Inspiration: Understanding Community
We begin by listening. This phase grounds your program in real needs, lived experiences, and your organization’s values.
Facilitate Community Listening Sessions
Hear directly from those most impacted by grief to identify values, needs, and priorities.Form Advisory Circles or Planning Committees
Create structures for ongoing peer and community leadership.Map Organizational Values and Community Goals
Explore how your core values can shape a responsive grief support approach.Conduct Needs & Strengths Assessments
Map current resources, identify service gaps, and clarify your goals. -
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2. Ideation: Co-creating the Right Model
Together, we shape a grief support model that is inclusive, trauma-informed, and culturally relevant.
Human-Centered Design Workshops
Facilitate collaborative sessions with peers, staff, and stakeholders to explore possibilities and test ideas.Program Visioning & Model Development
Develop a clear, actionable peer grief support model that reflects lived experience and aligns with organizational goals. -
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3. Implementation Planning: Bringing the Vision to Life
Design integration and sustainability
Strategic Alignment Planning
Identify where peer grief support fits within existing programs and partnerships.Sustainability & Scaling Strategy
Plan for staffing, funding, training, and growth over time.Support with Marketing and Recruitment Efforts
Provide best practices for marketing peer grief support solutions and support for joint recruitment efforts.
Ongoing Design Consultation
Receive continued guidance and adaptation support as the model takes shape. -
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4. Training & Peer Grief Helper Development: Building Capacity to Support Others
Equip your team to hold space, offer care, and lead with confidence.
RIVER Peer Grief Support Training (Introductory & 16-Hour Options)
Skill-building for Peer Grief Helpers grounded in relational, peer-led practices.Topic-Specific Workshops
Supporting the newly bereaved, facilitating groups, stigma & disenfranchised grief, cultural humility.Peer Leadership Development
Integration of reflective practice and community-based facilitation skills. -
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5. Implementation: Launching Peer Grief Support in Practice
Bring your program to life with guided support and hands-on partnership.
1:1 Peer Grief Support Matching Systems
Co-develop systems for peer connection and relational support.Support Groups
Design, train, and co-facilitate grief groups tailored to your community.Public Grief Workshops
Offer accessible spaces for education, healing, and connection. -
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6. Reflection & Iteration (embedded across all phases)
Build in feedback loops and continuous learning.
Advisory input and community feedback are incorporated throughout the process.
Co-design sessions include reflection and program review checkpoints.
Tools for monitoring, learning, and adjusting as the program evolves.
Comprehensive data provided based on selected metrics.
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7. Ongoing Support, Training & Reflection
Sustain your program with continued learning, support, and community of practice.
Monthly Peer Grief Helper Sharing Circles
Spaces for reflection, feedback, and connection.1:1 Coaching and Skill-Building
Tailored support for facilitators and peer helpers.Fidelity Monitoring & Program Growth
Support in staying aligned with core principles while adapting as needed.Refresher Training & Advanced Topics
Continued skill-building to deepen impact and prevent burnout.
At Peer Support Community Partners, we believe that honoring grief means creating spaces where every story is heard, every emotion is held, and every individual is seen. By applying Human-Centered Design principles—from deep community listening to iterative co-creation—we ensure that your peer grief support program is not an add-on but a living, evolving part of your community's fabric. Grounded in values, shaped by lived experience, and reinforced through ongoing reflection, this approach transforms how your teams show up for those who carry grief, stigma, and loss.