Region 7 Presents: Cultivating a Grief Sensitive Community through Library and Community-Based Partnerships

In this one-hour panel presentation, participants will learn about the work of two organizations in support of mental health and suicide prevention in libraries. Sharing Kindness co-founder and executive director, Kimberely Mead-Walters, MD, and clinician and project lead Kathleen Shine-O’Brien, LMHC, will describe their NNLM funded project: Grief 101: Improving Grief Literacy in our Community. Anne Romano, MLIS, hospital librarian and board member and volunteer for the Connecticut Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, will describe her work in a psychiatric hospital library, programming for mental health and volunteer work with public libraries.

In addition to learning about health information resources available through NLM to support grief awareness, attendees will have the opportunity to gather ideas of projects and partnerships to support well-being in your community.

Presenters:

Kimberely Mead-Walters, MD, is a mother, grandmother, physician, suicide loss survivor, and now Executive Director of Sharing Kindness. When her beloved teen-aged son Jeremy died from suicide in 2016, Kim and her family experienced first-hand the gaps in service around grief support and suicide awareness. She and her husband, Davis Walters, created Sharing Kindness, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2018, with a mission of building a grief-sensitive, suicide aware Cape Cod & Islands community. In addition to her role at Sharing Kindness, Kim is also a Board Certified Family Physician (recently retired from a 30-year career as a primary care doctor), a member of the Barnstable County Children's Behavioral Health Work Group, and on the Board of Directors at Cape Cod Children’s Place.

Kathleen Shine-O'Brien, LMHC, is a wife, a mom, a grandmother and a passionate advocate for suicide prevention and grief support. In her role as Director of Clinical and Community Services for Sharing Kindness, Kathleen has created presentations for the community and schools in cultivating grief literacy. When her sister died in 1984, Kathleen, a social worker, was unable to find grief support services for siblings. Her passion is derived from her belief that no one should grieve alone. 

Anne Romano, MLIS is Director of Library Services/CME Coordinator of Silver Hill Hospital in New Canaan, Connecticut.  Anne’s library career spans over 30 years in both academic and hospital settings. She completed her Masters in Library and Information Studies degree from The University of Alabama and her bachelor’s degree from Sacred Heart University. Anne works with clinicians, patients and families at a psychiatric hospital and collaborates with local public libraries in raising awareness about mental health issues. Anne’s commitment to community causes is evidenced in her involvement with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. She serves on the board of AFSP’s Connecticut Chapter and her dedication to raising awareness and funds for AFSP is a driving force in the fight to end suicide.

By registering for this class, you are agreeing to the NNLM Code of Conduct