Bereavement Professional

​​I am wondering if any could share as to the outreach, support and education they might provide in your community for 'parents who have lost children'.  While we have offered group support in our small rural community - it would be a gift to explore other ways in which to provide outreach and support.
In gratitude
Lissa DeFreitas
Sandpoint, Idaho

The Compassionate Friends is a national organization that has support groups for parents who have experienced the horrific reality of a death of a child.  Go on their website and go to your state and see what support groups are available.

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Susan R. Latta LMFT, FT
Director of Bereavement
Hospice of Chattanooga.
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-23-2018 11:26
From: Lissa Defreitas
Subject: Support to Parents who have lost children

​​I am wondering if any could share as to the outreach, support and education they might provide in your community for 'parents who have lost children'.  While we have offered group support in our small rural community - it would be a gift to explore other ways in which to provide outreach and support.
In gratitude
Lissa DeFreitas
Sandpoint, Idaho

Original Message------

​​I am wondering if any could share as to the outreach, support and education they might provide in your community for 'parents who have lost children'.  While we have offered group support in our small rural community - it would be a gift to explore other ways in which to provide outreach and support.
In gratitude
Lissa DeFreitas
Sandpoint, Idaho

​I would encourage them to check into the MISS Foundation.  It is a national organization.  I see there may be a support group in ID, but I do not know how close it would be to them.  However, the organization has a variety of resources available and is specific to supporting parents whose children have died.  Website is MISS Foundation

Missfoundation		remove preview
MISS Foundation A community of compassion and hope. View this on Missfoundation >

MISS Foundation

Missfoundation		remove preview
MISS Foundation A community of compassion and hope. View this on Missfoundation >

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Carol S. Miller, LCSW
Bereavement Program Manager
Casa de la Luz Hospice
Tucson, AZ
carolm@casahospice.com
520-544-9890
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-23-2018 11:26
From: Lissa Defreitas
Subject: Support to Parents who have lost children

​​I am wondering if any could share as to the outreach, support and education they might provide in your community for 'parents who have lost children'.  While we have offered group support in our small rural community - it would be a gift to explore other ways in which to provide outreach and support.
In gratitude
Lissa DeFreitas
Sandpoint, Idaho

Lisa,
Our hospice has a contract with the local children's hospital, providing bereavement follow up for families who experience the death of their child. We also provide material to funeral homes and emergency departments to create an awareness of the services we provide.
Original Message:
Sent: 08-23-2018 11:26
From: Lissa Defreitas
Subject: Support to Parents who have lost children

​​I am wondering if any could share as to the outreach, support and education they might provide in your community for 'parents who have lost children'.  While we have offered group support in our small rural community - it would be a gift to explore other ways in which to provide outreach and support.
In gratitude
Lissa DeFreitas
Sandpoint, Idaho

​Hi Lissa,

Yes! The national peer-led resources like the Compassionate Friends are excellent, however, they become very diverse groups where I find grievers cannot always connect. For context, you may have a chapter where there is a parent newly grieving a miscarriage or stillbirth next to a parent grieving the loss of an adult child to overdose ten years out. There are absolutely areas of common ground to be had here, but I also find that there's merit to a different kind of support. I always prepare referrals for this and let them know they can ask the facilitator about the makeup of the group. I do supplemental groups that are specific to "loss of an adult child", etc. where the pool is a little bit narrowed. 


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Aubrie G. Hills, MA, LICSW, ACHP-SW, FT
Social Worker &
Bereavement Coordinator
Hospice of the South Shore
Rockland, MA
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-23-2018 11:26
From: Lissa Defreitas
Subject: Support to Parents who have lost children

​​I am wondering if any could share as to the outreach, support and education they might provide in your community for 'parents who have lost children'.  While we have offered group support in our small rural community - it would be a gift to explore other ways in which to provide outreach and support.
In gratitude
Lissa DeFreitas
Sandpoint, Idaho

​Our hospice is currently in the process of starting a pediatric parent mentor volunteer program that will match the parents of current pediatric hospice patients with parents of children that have passed away on our service. We are planning to match the parents of current and former patients with each other based on similar ages of the children. We chose not to match by diagnosis since it might be more difficult to match people based on the more rare diagnoses.

We have had a couple of information meetings and have a good core group of parents whose children passed on our service. We will be training the mentors about the specifics of the volunteer program next month. It is our goal to have the parent mentor volunteers connect with the current parents via phone calls, text messages and emails. We will leave it up to them for whether they'd like to arrange in-person meetings as well.

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Lara Kitchens, Volunteer Coordinator
Community Hospice of Texas
Dallas, TX
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-23-2018 11:26
From: Lissa Defreitas
Subject: Support to Parents who have lost children

​​I am wondering if any could share as to the outreach, support and education they might provide in your community for 'parents who have lost children'.  While we have offered group support in our small rural community - it would be a gift to explore other ways in which to provide outreach and support.
In gratitude
Lissa DeFreitas
Sandpoint, Idaho​

​Lara, I love this idea! Have you checked out Evermore? They have a similar mentorship style bent that may be helpful to look at:  EVERMORE

EVERMORE		remove preview
EVERMORE Evermore is a nonprofit dedicated to serving parents who have lost a child at any age and from any cause. View this on EVERMORE >

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Aubrie G. Hills, MA, LICSW, ACHP-SW, FT
Social Worker &
Bereavement Coordinator
Hospice of the South Shore
Rockland, MA
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 08-27-2018 10:46
From: Lara Kitchens
Subject: Support to Parents who have lost children

​Our hospice is currently in the process of starting a pediatric parent mentor volunteer program that will match the parents of current pediatric hospice patients with parents of children that have passed away on our service. We are planning to match the parents of current and former patients with each other based on similar ages of the children. We chose not to match by diagnosis since it might be more difficult to match people based on the more rare diagnoses.

We have had a couple of information meetings and have a good core group of parents whose children passed on our service. We will be training the mentors about the specifics of the volunteer program next month. It is our goal to have the parent mentor volunteers connect with the current parents via phone calls, text messages and emails. We will leave it up to them for whether they'd like to arrange in-person meetings as well.

------------------------------
Lara Kitchens, Volunteer Coordinator
Community Hospice of Texas
Dallas, TX

Original Message:
Sent: 08-23-2018 11:26
From: Lissa Defreitas
Subject: Support to Parents who have lost children

​​I am wondering if any could share as to the outreach, support and education they might provide in your community for 'parents who have lost children'.  While we have offered group support in our small rural community - it would be a gift to explore other ways in which to provide outreach and support.
In gratitude
Lissa DeFreitas
Sandpoint, Idaho​

Hello -
For years we offered a support group for parents that had a child die, but attendance dropped pretty dramatically and we discontinued the group.  We often refer out to perinatal loss groups in the area when appropriate and compassionate friends.  We do have great success with a group for parents that have had an adult child die. 
Good luck to you. 
Diane

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Diane Snyder Cowan, CHPCA,MA,MT-BC
Director of Bereavement Center
Hospice of the Western Reserve, Inc
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Original Message:
Sent: 08-23-2018 11:26
From: Lissa Defreitas
Subject: Support to Parents who have lost children

​​I am wondering if any could share as to the outreach, support and education they might provide in your community for 'parents who have lost children'.  While we have offered group support in our small rural community - it would be a gift to explore other ways in which to provide outreach and support.
In gratitude
Lissa DeFreitas
Sandpoint, Idaho

​thank you all -- for your helpful and uplifting responses!
We too, have offered support groups to parents - and closed the group several times due to lack of attendance. While there is a website for Compassionate Friends - and perhaps 'on line' assistance available - we hope to create a support to parents who have lost children in a creative way -- that 'meets them where they are'.

All of your support - has been greatly beneficial! thank you All
Lissa DeFreitas
Sandpoint, ID
Original Message:
Sent: 08-27-2018 10:51
From: Diane Snyder Cowan
Subject: Support to Parents who have lost children

Hello -
For years we offered a support group for parents that had a child die, but attendance dropped pretty dramatically and we discontinued the group.  We often refer out to perinatal loss groups in the area when appropriate and compassionate friends.  We do have great success with a group for parents that have had an adult child die.
Good luck to you.
Diane

------------------------------
Diane Snyder Cowan, CHPCA,MA,MT-BC
Director of Bereavement Center
Hospice of the Western Reserve, Inc

Original Message:
Sent: 08-23-2018 11:26
From: Lissa Defreitas
Subject: Support to Parents who have lost children

​​I am wondering if any could share as to the outreach, support and education they might provide in your community for 'parents who have lost children'.  While we have offered group support in our small rural community - it would be a gift to explore other ways in which to provide outreach and support.
In gratitude
Lissa DeFreitas
Sandpoint, Idaho