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 was founded over 40 years ago when a chaplain at
the Warwickshire Hospital in England brought together two sets of grieving
parents and realized that the support they gave each other was better than
anything he, as a chaplain, could ever say or provide. Meeting around a
kitchen table, the Lawleys and the Hendersons were joined by a bereaved
mother and the chaplain, Simon Stephens, and The Society of the
Compassionate Friends was born. The Compassionate Friends jumped across the
ocean and was established in the United States and incorporated in 1978 in
Illinois.Each
chapter, along with the supporting National Office, is committed to helping
every bereaved parent, sibling, or grandparent who may walk through our
doors or contact us.
Today more than 630 chapters serving all 50 states plus Washington D.C. and
Puerto Rico offer friendship, understanding, and hope to bereaved parents,
siblings, grandparents, and other family members during the natural grieving
process after a child has died. Around the world more than 30 countries have
a Compassionate Friends presence, encircling the globe with support so
desperately needed when the worst has happened.
