Volunteer Spotlight: Amy Morse

For National Volunteer Week, we’re highlighting the incredible work of our volunteers. We’ll be showcasing short interviews with our volunteer grief workers to share their wisdom and express our gratitude for their commitment to supporting pandemic grievers. 

Name: Amy Morse
Age: 65
Location: Half time on a tiny farm in Southeastern MA and half time on a barrier island in Florida
Profession: Clinical social worker, Retired teacher, and professional developer

Why do you volunteer with COVID Grief Network (CGN)?
We each experience grief: sometimes the engulfing, life-changing grief of loss, and sometimes the quieter, less public grief of unexpected or unwanted shifts in daily life. In the past few years, I have experienced the loss of beloved family members and close friends in a very compact period of time. The comfort of companionship and validation of recognition made a difficult time more bearable and tender. In this pandemic time, comfort seemed scarce and elusive, and I wanted to help change that for others.

What has supporting young adults in our network taught you?
The young adults have taught me that resilience is a fierce thing, something with shape and muscle – attainable even if in the far distance. My interactions with young adults have taught me that this age group is uniquely ripe, responsive, and reflective. I give total credit to the young adults I’ve talked with since last summer for building my capacity to see and to listen to what needs to be understood about grief, and for that and for you, I am very grateful.

Do you have a message for young adults in grief?
You are not obliged to do anything differently or better in order to “grieve well.” We are wired for sense-making and this will come to pass, this sometimes arduous task of what it means to grieve. It seems the sadness can, remarkably, make one’s heart stronger – not broken after all.

What’s your preferred method of self-care?
Making things. Creating something can be a hedge against overwhelm, sadness, distress. I love clay – a most forgiving of materials. Even if it’s my 20th wonky bowl of the day, I’ve lost myself in the playfulness of creating it and that is a time of solace for me.

Are you interested in volunteering with the COVID Grief Network? Learn more and apply here.