Eluna Community Conversation: Grief Through the Lens of LGBTQ+ Youth & Communities

In this Grief Through the Lens series, our esteemed panelists invited us to expand the definition of grief by honoring intergenerational activism, intersectionality, and collective grief experiences within queer & trans communities. Our panel also explored unique barriers to grief support and actionable steps to build brave and affirming spaces for LGBTQ+ youth and communities. Meet the panelists below!

Panelist Resources:

• The Philly HopeLine is a program of the Uplift Center for Grieving Children. It is a free and confidential helpline for grief and emotional support staffed by our Master’s degree-level clinicans. The Philly HopeLine is open to all youth and caregivers in the Philadelphia region. Uplift Center for Grieving Children also offers virtual Family Grief Support Groups and Queer and Trans Youth Grief and Loss Groups.
• FRIENDS WAY serves families throughout Southeastern New England. Staffed with highly qualified mental health care professionals and extensively trained community volunteers, they provide peer support to children and their families in a safe and nurturing environment. Their services are free to all families.
• With over 20 years of experience in social justice facilitation and services for LGBTQIA individuals, Lyndon Cudlitz delivers customized training and technical assistance in the education, healthcare, nonprofit, business, government, and recreation sectors. Lyndon also provides education and consultation for LGBTQ+ individuals and their loved ones.
• Hetrick-Martin creates this environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, and asexual (LGBTQIA+) youth between the ages of 13 and 24 and their families. Through a comprehensive package of direct services and referrals, Hetrick-Martin seeks to foster healthy youth development. Hetrick-Martin’s staff promotes excellence in the delivery of youth services and uses its expertise to create innovative programs that other organizations may use as models.
• CD Davidson-Hiers is a Florida-born journalist and writer. Her previous focus was on K12 education and COVID-19 pandemic reporting, where her work connecting seniors with local vaccines attracted national attention. She writes about queerness, burnout and Florida’s environment. She serves as a membership coordinator with the Education Writers Association. CD also works as a freelancer, with interests that include the environment and our wild places.

Additional LGBTQ+ Support & Resources:

• LGBTQ+ Grief: Challenges and Barriers: In this article we delve into the layers of disenfranchised, compounded, and collective grief often experienced by LGBTQ+ youth and communities. Understanding and acknowledging these complex facets of grief are essential in fostering compassionate and queer affirming spaces.
• LGBTQ+ Grief: Support & Resources: This article includes recommended steps and supportive spaces for grieving LGBTQ+ youth and communities.
• The Trevor Project provides information & support to LGBTQ young people 24/7, all year round.
• onePULSE Foundation is the nonprofit organization established in the aftermath of the June 12, 2016 tragedy at Pulse nightclub. The four pillars of our mission are to create and support a memorial that opens hearts, a museum that opens minds, educational programs that open eyes, and legacy scholarships that open doors.
• Trans Lifeline is a trans-led organization that connects trans people to the community, support, and resources they need to survive and thrive.
• Gender Spectrum works to create gender sensitive and inclusive environments for all children and teens.
• LGBTQ Grief Loss Support on Facebook (2.7K members) is a caring place for LGBTQ+ people to grieve & share the loss of a loved one.
• Somos Familia provides resources in Spanish for families of LGBTQ people.
• Hope Health offers an LGBTQ+ Grief Support Group (virtual) that meets regularly. Led by a specially trained facilitator, this group provides a safe, confidential, and supportive setting for individuals experiencing grief related to loss.
• The Grievery is a virtual collective of care and connection, bringing adults together to practice leaning into grief with courage, compassion, and curiosity. The Grievery is a queer-owned feminist collective, a non-hierarchical space where anyone, anywhere can open up and reflect, to truly see and hear the fullness of humanity in themselves and others. They offer a queer grief gathering that takes place on the 1st of every month. The cost is $25 per session. For new gatherers — your first session is free!

Meet the Panelists

CD Davidson-Hiers (she/her)
Journalist & Writer

CD Davidson-Hiers, our moderator, is a Florida-born journalist and writer. Her previous focus was on K12 education and COVID-19 pandemic reporting, where her work connecting seniors with local vaccines attracted national attention. She writes about queerness, burnout and Florida’s environment. She serves as a membership coordinator with the Education Writers Association. LinkedIN

Ryan Loiselle, MSW, LICSW (he/him)
Program Director of FRIENDS WAY

Ryan Loiselle, LICSW is the program director for FRIENDS WAY. Prior to joining FRIENDS WAY, he worked at Merrimack Valley Hospice with a concentration in pediatric palliative care and children’s bereavement. Ryan studied at the University of Rhode Island and received his degree in Human Development and Family Studies, with a minor in Thanatology (the study of death, loss, grief, and bereavement). He went on to Simmons College in Boston, MA and received his master’s in social work. Additionally, he has presented at several conferences for NASW (National Association of Social Workers) and for NAGC (National Alliance for Grieving Children) on children’s bereavement. Ryan joined the board of directors for the NACG in January 2022. He started RI Grief Counseling in July 2020 and has been involved in grief camps since 2003. LinkedIN

Lyndon Cudlitz (he/him or they/them)
Consultant, Educator, Trainer

With over 20 years of experience in LGBTQIA services, Lyndon Cudlitz delivers customized training and technical assistance in the recreation, education, healthcare, nonprofit, business, and government sectors. His background includes 10 years as a firefighter/EMT, services for survivors of violence, and directing & founding youth programs in Maine, New York, and Missouri. Additionally, Lyndon is a regular volunteer for an overnight summer camp in Upstate NY. LinkedIN

Adam D-F. Stevens (they/them), MA, RDT
Registered Drama Therapist (RDT)

Adam D-F. Stevens (they|them), MA, RDT. They are a Registered Drama Therapist (RDT) who works with the Hetrick-Martin Institute, a non-profit organization that serves LGBTQAI+ youth in NYC. Their role includes supporting queer youth in transforming their loss and grief into unapologetic, abundant joy and empowerment. Adam is on the board of directors of the National Alliance for Children’s Grief (NACG). They are alumni of Marymount Manhattan College and New York University where their areas of study included Theatre Arts and Drama Therapy, respectively. Adam serves as an adjunct faculty member in the Creative Arts Therapy Programs at Antioch University in Seattle, and New York University and Marymount Manhattan College in NYC. Adam’s superpowers are rooted in the fantastical forces of creativity and love.

CJ Roseberry, MSW (they/them)
Family Care Clinical Coordinator at Uplift Center for Grieving Children

CJ Roseberry, MSW is a social worker who received their Master’s Degree from Florida Gulf Coast University in Social Work and their undergraduate degree, also from FGCU in Philosophy minoring in Gender Studies. Upon graduation CJ has worked with bereaved youth and their families in both hospice and grief center settings in Southwest Florida. CJ has worked in Philadelphia at Uplift Center for Grieving Children for 5 years as Uplift’s Family Care Clinical Coordinator. CJ primarily works with grieving caregivers and youth in the LGBTQIA+ community. CJ’s professional interests include parenting in your grief, use of meditation in a support group setting and the function of ambiguous loss in relation to mental health status. CJ has aspirations to obtain a PhD in Human Sexuality specializing in Transgender Health. LinkedIn