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The death of a child at any age can be an isolating experience and support from family or friends isn't always enough. Bereaved Parents offers parents an opportunity to be in a environment of compassion and support with other parents who have also experienced loss.

Bereaved Parents group is held the second Saturday of the month, at Whareora House, 10am, 8 Athelstan Street, near Barrington Mall. Please bring a coin donation for hire of the room.

Meetings are on:

July 13th

Aug 10th

Sept 14th

Oct 12th

Nov 9th

December 10th (Tues - candle light service venue tbc)

Visitor's notice

Mainland Press article - August 2012

Support Group For Bereaved Parents Resumes

A Christchurch support group for parents who have lost a child has started up again after five years break.

Bereaved Parents Christchurch, formerly the Compassionate Friends, was established in 1995 by two mothers whose sons had been killed in car accidents, but the group stopped operating in 2006 as there were no new facilitators to take on this role.

The group meets monthly and operates in an informal discussion format yet allows for everyone to have their say. Participants are encouraged to talk about their loss as much or as little as they want.

The group’s facilitator, Chris Guerin, started attending Compassionate Friends after her two-year-old daughter died in a driveway accident 11 years ago.

“The support group was a safe place to express my feelings and be in a place where my grief journey was both respected and shared. We had the freedom to laugh and cry together about a situation that in reality was a living nightmare."

“I see the group as ordinary parents helping ordinary parents. We don’t approach this as professional counsellors but by simply supporting each other. I hope to give support back in return for the help I was given in the early painful years.”

One of the group’s former facilitators, Lynn Anderson, who is a counsellor, is pleased that the group is being reformed. The death of a son or daughter, or even more than one child, can be a very isolating experience, but Bereaved Parents can provide support, reassurance and acceptance, and honour each person’s unique journey.

She says “The only right way to grieve is what feels right for that person and for that person to be supported to find the inner strength to care for themselves as they slowly integrate their grief into their lives. Surrounded by other bereaved parents, they can hopefully share their vulnerability with others who are at a similar stage, or witness the strength of those who are further on in their journey.”

Bereaved Parents is held the second Saturday of the month, at Whareora House, 8 Athelstan Street, near Barrington Mall. Please bring a coin donation for hire of the room.

For further information, please contact Chris 960-9099/021-293-1357, chrisguerin@clear.net.nz. Barbara 022-364-1900