Upopolis: The Podcast Upopolis

Please note we ended up switching two episodes to get one recorded after this one out in time for National Children's Day and Children & Youth Grief Awareness Day. In this episode, we say this is episode 35 but it is episode 36.

Please join Krista the host of the Upopolis podcast as she chats with special guest Jenna, a youth who has been a member of Upopolis for 6 years and is one of the 2022 Connection Award Winners. Jenna talks a lot about embracing who you are and the value of programs like summer camps and virtual communities established for youth with medical diagnoses. 

Join Aushia, the Upopolis intern for this episode of the Upopolis podcast. She chats with two teens about grief and loss from their perspective. Grief is a personal experience, and it looks different from person to person. Guests on the podcast are two 16-year-old teens that will be sharing their experience of the death of their fathers, what supports were offered, what they found helpful, and what supports they wish they had. We explore the topic of mindful word usage, power over sharing the death experience, maintaining a sense of normalcy, and more. There are many educational tools and resources that can support grieving youth with parental and familial death. There are a few listed below for those who want to independently explore different grief supports and services. Youth 10-18 are also welcome to join Upopolis Island where we have an online community for them to connect with peers, resources, and programming facilitated by our child life team.  To join email support@upopolis.com 
 
Resources:
https://www.childrenandyouthgriefnetwork.com

Hello listeners! It is that time of year again...U Got This Challenge time. This year the Upopolis team will be encouraging youth to put themselves out there by doing acts of kindness, reframing things, volunteering, and having conversations with others. Youth can sign up by emailing us at sopport@upopolis.org or sending a DM to our social channels. All youth are welcome to participate. Teacher! Be sure to listen as there is a little something special in this episode for you. 

In this episode, Krista talks about filling the gap between gaining new knowledge and using it purposefully. Learning is great but sometimes we can feel guilt from learning new things and then not getting to do what we want with that information. This episode focuses on youth and school transitions and how we as parents, teachers, and health care professionals can help youth to use their knowledge and skills to have better experiences and to make an impact. Please take a few minutes to listen and move to take the time to help fill the gap in the future.
 Blogs referenced:
Tips for helping youth as they return to school
How can I help a grieving youth as they transition back to school
Resources mentioned:
Dougy Center- Your friend is grieving
Lighthouse- 20 Things grieving students would like their teacher to know

Grief is hard! Going into something new like an online community or a grief group and not knowing what to expect is hard too (just a different kind of hard). The Upopolis team wanted to help you; parents, youth, and referrers to get the information you need to learn more about what Upopolis Island has to offer.  Krista invited Jordan and Melissa, the two CCLS who work on Upopolis Island to join her for this podcast to talk about who Upopolis Island is for, what types of programming take place, examples of activities, and more. 
Be sure to have a listen and reach out to the Upopolis team at support@upopolis.com with questions or to ask to join. 

Krista, the host of the podcast stumbled across an amazing document from the ACLP released in 2020 ( maybe it got missed or overlooked with the pandemic) about this episode's topic and loads of good research. It is national self-care day in July and this post cast talks about several free self-care activities as well as supporting parents in learning about their child's hospital experience, diagnosis, and coping strategies as a way of self-care. Bonus research shows that doing this form of self-care also leads to increased confidence and coping in parents/ caregivers, improved cooperation and coping in their children, and sets them up for more positive future medical experiences.  Have a listen and enjoy.