The Compassionate Friends
"The Compassionate Friends is about transforming the pain of grief into the elixir of hope. It takes people out of the isolation society imposes on the bereaved and lets them express their grief naturally. With the shedding of tears, healing comes. And the newly bereaved get to see people who have survived and are learning to live and love again.”
—Simon Stephens, founder of The Compassionate Friends
The mission of The Compassionate Friends is to assist families toward the positive resolution of grief following the death of a child of any age and to provide information to help others be supportive.
The Compassionate Friends was founded 40 years ago when a chaplain at the Warwickshire Hospital in England brought together two sets of grieving parents and realized that the support they gave each other was better than anything he, as a chaplain, could ever say or provide. Meeting around a kitchen table, the Lawleys and the Hendersons were joined by a bereaved mother and the chaplain, Simon Stephens, and The Society of the Compassionate Friends was born. The Compassionate Friends jumped across the ocean and was established in the United States and incorporated in 1978 in Illinois.
Each chapter, along with the supporting National Office, is committed to helping every bereaved parent, sibling, or grandparent who may walk through our doors or contact us.
Today more than 600 chapters serving all 50 states plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico offer friendship, understanding, and hope to bereaved parents, siblings, grandparents, and other family members during the natural grieving process after a child has died. Around the world more than 30 countries have a Compassionate Friends presence, encircling the globe with support so desperately needed when the worst has happened.
TCF of Southwest Colorado, Chapter Number: 2372
COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS Meeting first Monday of each month, 7 pm at Rocky Mountain Retreat, 848 Third Ave., Durango, CO. Contact Sandy Baumann at tcfdurango@gmail.com or (970) 375-9589, for more information.
If you are a member of the family who has suffered the death of a child or a friend The Compassionate Friends is here to help you. Feel free to contact TCF’s National Office at 877-969-0010 or email nationaloffice@compassionatefriends.org. Visit www.compassionatefriends.org for more information.
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Weekly Email Tips to Support a Grieving Friend
It's hard to know what to say when someone experiences loss. Our free weekly newsletter provides insights, quotes and messages on how to help during the first year.
