How to help when you live far away
Practical, low-pressure ways to support someone grieving when you cannot be there in person.
4 min read
Distance does not have to mean absence. Surveys of bereaved adults consistently identify ongoing, low-key contact as among the most valued forms of support, more than flowers or one-time gestures (American Psychological Association [APA], 2022).
Send a meal, not just a card
Meal delivery services let you order dinner from across the country. A single meal on a hard week can mean more than a bouquet that needs to be put in water.
Take one task off the list
Offer to make calls, draft an obituary, set up a memorial fund, or research benefits. Specific offers are easier to accept than open-ended ones.
Mark the dates
Put the one-month, three-month, six-month, and one-year dates in your calendar and check in then. The phone gets quiet long before the grief does (Hospice Foundation of America, 2023).