Grief Support

In addition to the bereavement services for the families we serve,  we have provided some helpful grief support links below: 

Local Grief Support - GriefShare - Thursday, June 30 from 6:30pm - 8:00pm

GriefShare is a support group that meets weekly currently at Faith Bible Chapel, 115 Ashaway Rd., Westerly.  The program is nondenominational and features biblical concepts for healing from your grief.  To learn more, visit www.griefshare.org

Bereavement Support Groups - (Dates and times for programs vary.)

• General Bereavement - Hope Health Hospice, Providence, RI, 401-415-4200
• General Bereavement - VNA of Care New England, Warwick, RI, 800-348-6417, www.CNEHomeHealth.org
• General Bereavement - Roger Williams Hospital, Providence, RI, 401-456-2284
• Loss of Parent - Friends Way, Warwick, RI, 401-921-0980, www.FriendsWay.org
• Loss of Loved One by Suicide - The Samaritans, Providence, RI, 800-365-4044, www.SamaritansRI.org
• Infant Death Support Group - Newport Hospital, Newport, RI, 401-845-1114
• Infant Death Support Group - Ronald McDonald House, Providence, 401-274-1122

Other resources for local support groups or individual counseling may be offered at:

• Community Mental Health Centers
• Family Service Agencies
• Community Hospitals
• Private Counselors

Crisis, Grief and Healing 

Webhealing.com, the first interactive grief website on the internet, offers discussion boards, articles, book suggestions, and advice for men and women working through every aspect of grief. The site’s founder, Tom Golden LCSW, has provided book excerpts and contact information to help those healing from loss.

Willowgreen   

Willowgreen offers support and information for those dealing with life transition & aging, illness & caregiving, loss & grief, and hope & spirituality.  The site offers advice, products, and inspirational materials.

Grief and Loss   

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) website contains a Grief & Loss section with grief-related articles and information.

National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization   

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization’s website provides a host of information and resources for people facing a life-limiting illness or injury and their caregivers.

Experiencing a Death

The death of a loved one is a unique and intesnsely painful experience. It is important for all of us, when we experience this loss, to grieve. Grief is a healthy way of showing sorrow and accepting the loss as a reality.

Grief is an ever-changing process. Individuals who have had a loved one die may experience a number of emotions, all of which are part of the grieving process. It is important to remeber that our grief responses to loss vary from person to person and situation to situation. The duration and intensity of this porcess is unique to each indivdual.

Shock: Temporarily stunned, dazed. The human body cushions itself from the shock too great to accept all at once. It protects you from overwhelming pain.

Confusion: You may feel restless, yet too weary to move; mute, yet need to communicate; numb; yet overwhelmed; and you may want solitude, yet companionship.

Denial: Not accepting your loved one's death as realtiy.

Anger: An expression of frustration over the chages loss as brought. This may be directed towards God, the medical staff, or your loved one who has "deserted" you.

Doubt: About your ability, to adjust to the changes.

Depression: Loss, intensifies feelings of helplessness, hopelessness and powerlessness.

Guilt: Feelings that you somehow could have done more. Regrets about something you did, said, or failed to say or do.

Crying: Another natural, helpful response, particularly as the loss becomes real. Not everyone cries or chooses to do so in the presence of others.

Uncertainty: We no longer have the security provided by the one who died.

Loneliness: The longest-acting effect in the grieg process because a void has been created with this death.

Backsliding: Reoccurrence of feelings that bring one back to the pain of the situation, yet often at a less intense degree.