Defining widowed resilience

Defining widowed resilience

The Soaring Spirits Resilience Center takes a unique approach to compiling research-informed tools and resources by harnessing the power of shared experience. The research of the Soaring Spirits Resilience Center is made possible by a huge community of widowed people. Every stage of our research and program design has been created by widowed men and women who are making meaning from their own grief experiences by participating in the creation of tools and resources that will aid the widowed people who come after them.

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Interdisciplinary Research

Interdisciplinary Research

The Soaring Spirits Resilience Center research team includes professionals with specialties in a variety of fields of study. We believe that resilience is a multi-faceted quality which can be fostered physically, mentally and emotionally. In order to address each of these variations of focus a diverse and dedicated team is required. We welcome academic professionals who have an interest in the study of resilience as it applies to widowhood.

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Resources for Widowed men and women

Resources for Widowed men and women

Research conducted at the Soaring Spirits Resilience Center informs and supports the programming provided for widowed men and women by Soaring Spirits International. Through the work of Soaring Spirits our research is used to create innovative, practical tools to assist widowed people in rebuilding their lives post-loss. Follow this link for a full list of peer-based programs offered for widowed people by Soaring Spirits International.

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Resources for Bereavement Support Specialists

Resources for Bereavement Support Specialists

The tools and resources that have been created based on our research findings as well as Soaring Spirits significant experience providing programming for widowed men and women are made available at no charge to any person or organization providing bereavement support for a widowed person. Follow this link to access available resources.

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The Widowed Resilience Scale

The Widowed Resilience Scale

Resilience is defined as the ability to ‘bounce back’ or recover from a traumatic life event or circumstance. According to the Holmes and Rahe Social Readjustment Scale widowhood rates as one of life’s most challenging experiences. This fact has driven the desire to study resilience in widowhood and identify the ways in which resilience can be built in men and women who have experienced conjugal loss.

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Soaring Spirits International: Embracing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

At Soaring Spirits International (SSI), we believe that widowhood is a shared human experience, transcending boundaries of marital status, gender, sexual identity, and religious traditions. Our programs welcome and honor the diversity that grief brings, offering support to anyone who has experienced the death of their person.

We are committed to ensuring equitable access to our programs, recognizing that underserved populations face barriers in accessing grief support. Through active outreach and data collection, we work to remove these barriers systematically and consistently.

Inclusion is at the heart of our mission. We understand that mourning takes different forms across cultures and identities. With curiosity and cultural humility, we continually adapt and expand our resources to serve an ever broader and more diverse community of widowed individuals. We actively seek feedback from underrepresented communities to ensure our programs are relevant and inclusive.

Our dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion is an ongoing journey. We regularly review and improve our efforts, staying connected with the evolving needs of our global community.

Our full statement and DEI action plan can be found by clicking this link.

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Loved, Missed and Remembered

The Soaring Spirits Resilience Center's work is dedicated to the memories of these incredible people.

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Daniel L. Dippel
Daniel L. Dippel
James D. Eggers
James D. Eggers
Coll Gordon Perske
Coll Gordon Perske
Jim Joseph Siciliani
Jim Joseph Siciliani
Patrick Rooney
Patrick Rooney
Vernon Andrew West
Vernon Andrew West
Nicholas Dean Siciliani
Nicholas Dean Siciliani
Patricia Ann Flannery
Patricia Ann Flannery
Rick Deggelman
Rick Deggelman
Joel, Adam and Seth Herzog
Joel, Adam and Seth Herzog
Vito John Siciliani
Vito John Siciliani
Joesph Drace Jackson
Joesph Drace Jackson
Phillip Hernandez
Phillip Hernandez
Nora Deggelman
Nora Deggelman
Bill Rooney, Jr.
Bill Rooney, Jr.