Leah Blackwell, chaplain at Los Alamos Visiting Nurse Service and a grief-group facilitator trained with Golden Willow Retreat, led a presentation to the Los Alamos Health Council focused on grief literacy and practical supports for people facing loss during the holidays.

"Grief is the natural healing process of the psyche in response to the loss," Blackwell told the council, explaining Golden Willow’s adaptation of the classic Kubler‑Ross stages into non‑linear "aspects": insulation (denial), protest (anger), connecting the dots (bargaining), surrender (depression) and acknowledgement (acceptance). She stressed the aspects are not a linear checklist and that people can move between them in moments.

Blackwell opened and closed her remarks with brief guided meditations and described concrete actions friends and neighbors can take for people in grief: acknowledge the loss, offer presence and active listening, and provide specific offers of help (for example, bring a meal or write holiday cards together) rather than open‑ended offers that place the burden on the bereaved.

She listed local and regional resources for grief support: Golden Willow Retreat (which runs Zoom and in‑person groups), a local in‑person grief group meeting Tuesdays at 3 p.m. at Rivera Funeral Home, Gerard's House in Santa Fe for children, and the Grief Center in Albuquerque. Blackwell said she plans to begin a children's grief group in Los Alamos in the spring.

During Q&A, council members asked about chaplain credentials and local gaps in hospital chaplain services. Blackwell said hospice and community chaplaincy qualifications vary by role and organization; she described her work as a "spiritual friend," facilitating meaning‑centered conversations and coordinating with faith leaders when appropriate.

The council took no action; the presentation was informational. Blackwell’s remarks prompted discussion about adding grief resources to the council’s public materials and integrating grief‑support information with social‑service outreach during the holiday season.

(Reporting note: quotations and program details come from Leah Blackwell’s on‑the‑record presentation to the Los Alamos Health Council.)