About NBCopes
Grief Support Designed for Children and Youth,
Hope for the Whole Family.
Our Story
NBCopes was founded by Pam Pastirik in honour of her young son, Michael. After searching for grief support for her family, she discovered Camp Kerry in British Columbia and was inspired to create a similar model in New Brunswick. With the dedication of volunteers, skilled professionals, and those with lived experience of grief, NBCopes was born in 2020.
NBCopes stands for Connecting Others, Providing Education and Support. We embrace a unique approach rooted in family-centered care, creative therapies, and building a shared sense of community.
Our Vision
We envision a New Brunswick where no child, youth, or family feels alone in their grief.
Our Mission
We believe in the power of community to nurture healing and hope. Through holistic and creative approaches, we help children, youth, and parents build mental health resiliency and strengthen families following loss.
“At NBCopes, we understand that grief is a unique journey for every person and every family. Our programs provide a safe space to express grief in all its forms, connect with others who understand, and discover creative ways to heal.”
About Child and Family Grief
Children grieve differently than adults. Young children may not have the words to express complex feelings. For children of all ages, grief might be expressed in ways that seem unrelated to their loss. Although behaviours may differ from young children to youth, they all have meaning. Without understanding and support, children may experience long-term difficulties, including mental health challenges and struggles with future losses.
Why Children's Grief Needs Specialized Attention
Developmental Differences: Children's understanding of death changes as they grow. They may need repeated explanations and reassurance that they did not cause the death. As children grow into youths, they become part of a bigger world. Grief that is left unattended can make life difficult.
Expression of Grief: Children often express their grief through play, behaviour changes, or physical symptoms rather than through verbal communication. The places we express grief vary with age. School, work, and play look different from young children to youth. Each brings a unique challenge when a child’s grief is left unattended.
Family System Impact: Grief disrupts the entire family. Parents or caregivers may be overwhelmed by their own grief, making it harder to provide the support a child needs. By attending to the grief of children and parents, NB Copes strengthens the entire family and builds strong communities.
NBCopes: Meeting a Critical Need
Children's grief support in Canada, particularly in New Brunswick, is underfunded and inaccessible to many rural communities. This leaves countless grieving children and families without essential support.We understand the toll loss takes on families and communities. Our team blends deep experience with compassion to provide:
Specialized grief support for children and youth: Using age-appropriate activities, art, music, and other expressive methods to help children process their loss.
Resources and guidance for the whole family: Supporting parents, caregivers, and those seeking to learn about grief, so they can better support grieving children.
Community connections: Fostering a sense of belonging and helping families build a network of understanding. By helping children, youth and families connect, we build stronger communities where everyone benefits
We believe every child deserves the chance to heal in a way that accepts them where they are at in life. Join us in supporting this critical work.
Our Team: A Compassionate Community
Our board members and volunteers are the heart of NBCopes. Their diverse skills and unwavering dedication power our mission. Together, they build a welcoming space where grieving families find support and hope.
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President
Pam is a bereaved mother of Michael, who provides the passion and purpose for her work. She has taught nursing for 30 years and has expertise in perinatal nursing, family nursing, communication and grief/loss. She participates in research related to grief/loss and expressive arts. She believes in the power of creativity to heal hearts and is currently pursuing Art Therapy. Pam provides leadership for the board and subcommittees of NBCopes.
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Vice President
Dennis has been an English professor at St. Thomas University for over twenty years and brings a wealth of governance and leadership experience to the board. Dennis lost his wife to breast cancer in 2020 and discovered NBCopes while searching for grief/loss resources for his daughter Zélie. They have both benefited greatly from NB COPES’ caring work and know firsthand how valuable the organization’s combination of expertise and compassion can be in managing life-changing loss. Dennis joins the board eager to help NB COPES build capacity and expand its reach to grieving children, youth, and adults across New Brunswick.
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Treasurer
Rob Moir is a professor at the joined UNB Saint John in the Faculty of Business. He has worked with various non-profit organizations in the community He has a strong background in Economics and brings his experience to NB COPES. He is a husband and the dad of two children. Rob brings his past experience of pregnancy loss and his passion for creating services to support grieving families.
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Director
Dr. Stewart is a Pediatric Neurologist. She is involved in research on the effects of Art/Music on mental health and the brain along with teaching at Dalhousie Medicine, New Brunswick. She has an extensive background in the area of grief and loss with children and youth. She has served on numerous boards in the community to support the integration of the humanities into health and medicine. We are grateful for Dr. Stewart's extensive volunteer services along with her expertise in the integration of humanities and creative arts as a critical component of holistic health and healing. Learn more about Dr. Stewart: https://medicine.dal.ca/departments/core-units/cpd/about/our-people/wendy-stewart.html
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Director
Paul Pastirik is the SVP Strategic Development at Bird Construction with an extensive background in both energy boards and non-profit sectors. He holds a BComm, MBA, CMA. He joined the board to continue the legacy of his late nephew Michael and brother Dan, a valued volunteer of NB COPES. Our board is grateful for his expertise in financing and board development as we develop capacity for this work in New Brunswick. You can learn more about Paul on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-pastirik-ab927628/
Research Shows the Power of Community Grief Support
Learn how NBCopes programs are making a difference in the lives of grieving families.
“NBCopes...mission is to ensure that no child, youth, parent or grandparent grieves alone.”