THE MISSION OF THE COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS IS TO ASSIST FAMILIES IN THE POSITIVE RESOLUTION OF GRIEF FOLLOWING THE DEATH OF A CHILD AND TO PROVIDE INFORMATION TO HELP OTHERS BE SUPPORTIVE.

We are a local chapter of a nation-wide non-profit self-help organization offering friendship and understanding to families who are grieving the death of a child of any age, from any cause. All bereaved family members are welcome. Our purpose is to promote and aid families in the positive resolution of the grief experience upon the death of their child or sibling, and to foster the physical and emotional health of bereaved parents and surviving children. Only a person who has experienced the trauma of losing a child can fully understand the pain and the suffering.

Our greatest strength as bereaved families is the unity we find in shared experiences that removes feelings of isolation, gives us a place to “belong” and gives us hope that together, we can make it.

It is okay to express any feelings during our meetings, and all that is expressed is considered confidential. No religious creed or affiliation is involved. There are no dues and no one is required to talk at any meetings. Listening is okay!

We have regular meetings (all family members are welcome - most attendees are parents) monthly at Tallowood Baptist Church These meetings are on the second Monday of each month, at 7:00 PM. See Meeting Schedule.
 

Visit TCF National Organization Web site

WHAT'S IT ALL ABOUT?

When a child dies, a parent's world is turned upside down. Life will never be the same again. The grief of this loss is the worst thing a parent will ever endure. You do not have to go through this grief process alone. There are other parents who have experienced the death of a child and can offer understanding and support. These parents make up The Compassionate Friends.

The Compassionate Friends is a mutual assistance, self-help organization offering friendship and understanding to bereaved parents and siblings. The primary purpose is to assist them in the positive resolution of the grief experienced upon the death of a child and to support their efforts to achieve physical and emotional health.

This is not just a group for parents of young children who have died. It is for any parents, no matter how old their child was when he/she died. The death does not have to be a recent death, either. Anyone who has lost a child is welcome to attend our meetings.

Our Credo:  We need not walk alone We are the Compassionate Friends. We reach out to each other with love, with understanding and with hope. Our children have died at all ages and from many different causes, but our love for our children unites us. Your pain becomes my pain just as your hope becomes my hope. We come together from all walks of life, from many different circumstances. We are a unique family because we represent many races and creeds. We are young and we are old. Some of us are far along in our grief, but others still feel grief so fresh and so intensely painful that we feel helpless and see no hope. Some of us have found our faith to be a source of strength; some of us are struggling to find answers. Some of us are angry, filled with guilt or in deep depression; others radiate an inner peace. But whatever pain we bring to this gathering of The Compassionate Friends, it is pain we will share just as we share with each other the love of our children. We are all seeking and struggling to build a future for ourselves, but we are committed to building that future together as we reach out to each other in love and share the pain as well as the joy, share the anger as well as the peace, share the faith as well as the doubts and help each other to grieve as well as to grow.