Local support groups
Widow to Widower Support Group
For many human problems, such as the loss of a loved one, there are no easy answers or cures, but there is an alternative to coping alone and that is through a mutual-help group. There is a special bond among people who share the same troubling experience; it begins when one person says to another, “I know just how you feel.” A mutual-help group provides an atmosphere of acceptance that encourages its members to share their sorrows, fears and frustrations. From there, they can begin to find more effective coping strategies.
Such a mutual-help support group was formed for widowed persons in this area in October of 1986 by Randy Hartquist. To centrally support communities and families we serve, this group meets the third Tuesday of each month at 7 PM at our funeral home located in Pipestone, Minnesota. Please visit our ‘Locations’ page for directions or call us at 507-825-5411.
The evening typically begins with a speaker or video covering a grief-related topic. Following the program, refreshments are available and people have a time of sharing to express any problems they may now be facing as a widowed person. Although the program topic itself might often be beneficial, it is the sharing with other friends who have actually gone through a death that is usually the beneficial part of this group. If you do not feel like participating verbally, just listening to others talk and express what you might also be feeling can often be reassuring that the grief you are confronted with is normal.
This mutual-help group is offered through our funeral home as a concerned effort to help you following the death of your spouse. While it is only human nature to want to avoid the reality of a spouse’s death and avoid this group, we hope people will be willing to try this program. Please call the us with any questions you may have.
Compassionate Friends Support Group
(www.compassionatefriends.org)
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 is a national nonprofit, self-help support organization that offers friendship, understanding, and hope to bereaved parents, grandparents and siblings. There is no religious affiliation and there are no membership dues or fees.
The secret of TCF's success is simple: As seasoned grievers reach out to the newly bereaved, energy that has been directed inward begins to flow outward and both are helped to heal. The vision of The Compassionate Friends is that everyone who needs us will find us and everyone who finds us will be helped.
Compassionate Friends Support Group meets the first Tuesday of every month. Meetings are held at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
Regional Links
Family Services
Lincoln County (www.mncounties3.org/lincoln/)
Pipestone County (www.pipestone-county.com/)
Rock County (www.co.rock.mn.us/page13.html)
Minnesota Funeral Directors Association (www.mnfuneral.org/)
Camp Amanda (www.campamandaminn.com/)
National Links
Association for Death Education and Counseling (www.adec.org/)
Center for Loss and Life Transition (www.centerforloss.com/)
Counseling for Loss and Life Changes (www.counselingforloss.com)
Crisis, Grief, and Healing (www.webhealing.com/)
Death and Dying (www.death-dying.com/)
Federal Trade Commission (www.ftc.gov/)
GROWW – Grief Recovery Online (www.groww.com/)
Living Wills (www.partnershipforcaring.org/)
Medicare Information (www.medicare.gov/)
National Cemetery Association (www.cem.va.gov/)
National Funeral Directors Association (www.nfda.com/)
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (www.nhpco.org/)
Organ Donation (www.organdonor.gov/)
Social Security (www.ssa.gov/)
Sympathy Sharing (www.sympathyshare.com/)
Willowgreen – Grief Resource Center (www.willowgreen.com/) |
