Xavier Whitford, Executive Director for the Tommy Corral Memorial Foundation, spoke with Guilford students in a Zoom Meeting about strategies to help cope with change, grief, and loss during this very difficult year. Ms. Whitford has made a foundation for people who are grieving this year after her son Tommy had commited suicide.

   In the meeting she had talked about the definition of grief, how people deal with it, how it feels and, how long it can take to get over grief. This year many people have had to recover from their grief with family members succumbing to COVID-19. Ms. Whitford talked about whether it’s okay to reach out to people for help no matter how much we feel like isolating would be the best option. The holidays for many will be a very sad and grim time. Ms. Whitford mentioned making a plan to get through the holidays with as little pain as possible. She told her stories and how she felt dealing with her grief from her son’s death to relate to people so students wouldn’t feel so alone.

   You can visit her website if you or someone you know is struggling with grief in any way. https://tommycorralmemorialfoundation.com/