Butterfly Bereavement Art Exhibit on display at Headwaters Health Care Centre

November 9, 2023 · 0 Comments

Community-driven exhibit honours National Grief and Bereavement Days

By ZACHARY ROMAN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

There are over 1,000 vellum butterflies on the wall at Headwaters Health Care Centre.

The butterflies were decorated by people all across Dufferin and Caledon for the Butterfly Bereavement Project, a collaboration of Bethell Hospice, Hospice Dufferin, and the Hills of Headwaters Collaborative Ontario Health Team (HOHC OHT).

On November 8, residents, health care leaders and dignitaries gathered at the Headwaters Health Care Centre for the launch of the Butterfly Bereavement Art Exhibit. It is open for all to see and will be on display until the end of November.

Butterflies are known to represent hope and transformation, and thus are used worldwide to raise awareness about grief and bereavement.

The butterflies made for the exhibit were created over the past year at workshops held by Bethell Hospice, Hospice Dufferin, and the HOHC OHT Bereavement Working Group.

Community partners such as Caledon Meals on Wheels, Caledon Community Services, King Nursing Home, the Town of Caledon, and North Star Montessori School helped create butterflies.

Tracy Coffin, Executive Director of the HOHC OHT, said she’s extremely proud of the work that’s been done on the project.

Coffin said the exhibit is beautiful and a great representation of the community. Having recently lost her mother, Coffin said she spent some time alone viewing the butterfly exhibit and it brought her peace.

Kim Delahunt, CEO of Headwaters Health Care Centre, said she’s honoured to have the Butterfly Bereavement Art Exhibit at the centre. It’s located in the hospital’s ambulatory care wing.

“All these beautiful butterflies, they represent our community,” she said.

Dufferin-Caledon MPP Sylvia Jones attended the launch of the butterfly bereavement exhibit. She said the butterfly project is a great reminder of how different parts of the health care system work together to serve Ontarians.

Orangeville Mayor Lisa Post also attended the launch, and said it was fantastic to see so many people come together to honour the grieving process.

“Those who are suffering with grief in our community need extra special compassion,” she said. “Being able to see that there’s an entire network of organizations who are coming together to support grief and bereavement in such a meaningful way is so powerful… it’s an honour to be amongst all these butterflies.”

Natalie Talma, Manager of Supportive Care Programs at Bethell Hospice, said it’s amazing to see how the Butterfly Bereavement Project has grown.

“Last year we had a couple hundred butterflies… now it’s an even bigger and better display, it’s so lovely,” she said.