Resources – The Compassionate Friends

I have lived through the unimaginable. I had to bury my child.

Renee Scrima

2020-21 Schedule

Future meeting dates are TBD due to Covid-19 restrictions. We are currently doing a Live Series of YouTube videos with Co-Chapter Leaders Kristina & Steffanie. They recently started a blogcast called Sunflowers & Red Feathers as well. Watch the YouTube videos or read the blogs here. We hope you find these helpful while we can’t meet in person.

January 2021: Another Year Without Your Child

December 2020: Finding the Joy in Christmas

November 2020: How To Be Thankful While Grieving

October 2020: Preparing For The Holidays

Online Resources

{ Helping Children With Their Grief }
{Alive Alone }
{ American Association of Suicidology }
{ American Foundation for Suicide Prevention }
{ Bereaved Parents of the USA }
{ SIDS Network, Inc. }
{ SADS Foundation }

Your life was a blessing, your memory a treasure. You are loved beyond words and missed beyond measure.
Unknown

Phone

Al-Anon Family Groups (Addiction/Recovery): 1-888-425-2666
Depression & Crisis Hotline: 1-800-784-2433
Families Anonymous (Addiction/Recovery): 1-800-736-9805
National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 1-800-273-8255
Post-Partum Depression: 1-800-944-4773
Suicide Hotline: 1-800-SUICIDE
The National Institute for Trauma & Loss in Children (TLC): 1-877-306-5256

My world is spinning out of control. Life is moving forward yet I am stuck in the moment when you left me.
Sandra – Heavensbook Angels

Suggested Reading

Beyond Tears: Living After Losing a Child compiled by Ellen Mitchell. Stories from several different bereaved parents.
Dear Parents: Letters to Bereaved Parents Centering Corporation. Bereaved Parents who are further along in the grief write letters to newly Bereaved Parents.
Five Cries of Grief by the Strommens (a father and a mother give their perspectives). One family’s journey in healing after the tragic death of a son.
Lament for a Son by Nicholas Wolterstorff. A father writes about his son, who died in his 20’s from a mountain climbing accident.
Only Spring: On Mourning the Death of My Son by Gordon Livingston, MD. A doctor’s 6-year-old son dies of cancer.
Parting is Not Good-Bye by Kelly Osmont. A teenage son dies from a horse accident.
Sandy: a Heart for God by Leighton Ford (author is a brother in law to Billy Graham) Son, a runner in his early 20’s, dies from a congenital heart defect.
Stars in the Deepest Night: After the Death of a Child by G. Gentry. Poems and journal writings.
Tear Soup by Pat Schwiebert. Good for children and adults. A fictional story; a “recipe” for healing after the loss of a child.
The Worst Loss How families heal from the death of a child by B. Rosof.

If you are having a bad day filled with hopelessness or despair, give one of these friends a call:

Julie Vande Voorde, Mackenzie’s mom, lost her daughter by accidental prescription drug overdose when she was 20 years old. (208) 409-4660
Joanne Cleereman, Kevin’s mother, is located locally in our Boise Chapter. She lost an adult child (37 years). (208) 344-1010
Heather Crossley, Hayes’ mom, lost Hayes to illness when he wasn’t quite 2 years old. (208) 867-6628
Anita Elderkin, Ricky (2 years old) & Dusty’s (18 years) mom is available by email or phone: anelder@gmail.com or (208) 350-1305
Linda Merced, Christian & James’s mom, can be helpful to single parents that have lost all their children and have no grandkids, and live alone. (239) 848-2601