Compassionate Friends Support Group

6:00 - 8:00 pm - 2nd Monday of the Month
At Hospice of The Golden Isles

Bereaved families that have experienced the death of a child have an opportunity to meet with others on a regular basis who have endured similar tragedies. Compassionate Friends is a national self-help organization for families that have had a child die. We meet at Hospice of the Golden Isles at 6:00 - 8:00 pm on the second Monday of each month.

This area has long needed a bereavement organization where families could talk about their loss publicly without feeling out-of-place, said the new chapter leader Pat McCord. “ After your child dies, no one wants to talk with you about your child probably because they are afraid of making you feel bad. The irony is that talking about your child helps you –no one wants their child forgotten.  And studies have proven that tears are an emotional release that help you to feel better.”

The Compassionate Friends is a notional non-profit organization with nearly 600 chapters in the United States and locations in every state. Chapters welcome immediate family members to attend including siblings age 13 and up.  Meeting are for all families regardless of race, religious orientation, economic background, or the cause and age of the child at death, from pre-birth up.

“The death of a child turns the whole family upside down,” added McCord. “ Through our shared experience, we will be able to talk about the loss and learn coping techniques that will help us in our journey toward the positive resolution of our grief.”

“The Compassionate Friends welcomes the Golden Isles chapter,” says TCF Executive Director Patricia Loder.  “Our mission is to assist families toward the positive resolution of grief fallowing the death of a child of any age and to provide information to help others be supportive.  The Compassionate Friends of the Golden Isles will help us toward that mission.”

For more information about local chapter meetings, call Pat McCord at Hospice of the Golden Isles, 265-4735. For information about the national organization, call toll-free 877-969-0010 or visit www.compassionatefriends.org on the Web.