REF: ADVOCATING FOR THE EMPLOYMENT NEEDS OF GRIEVING PEOPLE
Let me start by expressing my gratitude to you and your entire staff for the work that you have been doing for the community. As a member of your constituency and a voter, I understand the numerous issues you deal with, and I am grateful for your representation. I am a counselor by profession and I own a small clinic that deals mostly with grieving patients in society. I am writing to inform you how unemployment affects grieving clients in our community.
I work with a client, Mary Daniels, who just lost her husband to a short illness, leaving her with two young boys. Mr. Daneils was the sole breadwinner in the family. As a result, his demise is particularly hard on his wife, who is now responsible for raising their children (Corden, Hirst & Nice, 2008). She is confused since her husband did not have life insurance, and she is an employed housewife. Her landlord has given her a notification to vacate his house if she does not pay the month’s rent in the next few days. Her youngest son has asthma, and she needs to renew his health insurance. She has tried to search for employment without any success since she is a high school dropout with no credentials. She admits that the lack of work has forced her and her boys to sleep without meals. Her situation has worsened her grief, and she confesses to having suicidal thoughts.
I have tried to support her in any several ways, including volunteering to feed her family on occasions. However, this is not enough. Mrs. Daniels’ case is not new in my clinic since I have dealt with similar situations in the past. Broadly, most grieving people, especially women, are left stranded after their husband’s deaths, forcing them to move into the streets due to financial issues (McFarlin, 2012). Some lose hope entirely and turn to drugs. In the worst-case scenario, some people may opt to kill themselves. With this in mind, the lack of employment is a significant issue in rehabilitating grieving clients. In essence, it deters clients from benefiting from the counseling help we give them. Mostly, this is because the loss of a loved one and lack of employment can be overwhelming to people. Evidentially, more needs to be done to ensure the well-being of our clients other than counseling.
I believe that this concern can be addressed by establishing an employment program that would help connect grief-stricken folks to jobs that suit their qualifications. In the process, the program would spare mourning people the trouble and pain of moving from one office to the other in search of employment without success. More so, it would support such people to relax and be more receptive to grief counseling as well as deter destructive habits such as substance abuse, which would facilitate their recovery. Alternatively, community-based grieving shelters can be established in society to help grief-stricken people. Such institutions would help persons that have lost their loved ones to access basic needs such as food and shelter until they get financially stable. More so, they can help support grieving people to recover from their loss.
I hope you will consider my suggestions. I can be reached via ….(555) 551-541.
Yours Sincerely
(Sender’s Name)
References
Corden, A., Hirst, M., & Nice, K. (2008). Financial implications of death of a partner. University of York, Social Policy Research Unit. Retrieved from https://www.york.ac.uk/inst/spru/research/pdf/Bereavement.pdf
McFarlin, H. R. (2012). Unemployed single parent project (Doctoral dissertation, Southern New Hampshire University).
