The group will meet from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Compass Regional Hospice’s main office, 160 Coursevall Drive, Centreville, and will be facilitated by experienced and licensed grief counselors Linda Turner and Ann OConnor.
Participation in support groups offered through Compass Regional Hospice offer companionship and understanding from others who are experiencing the similar challenges that living with grief brings.
“Our grief support group for widows and widowers provides a safe place where one can share their experiences and feelings with a group of people that really gets it,” Turner said. “Losing your spouse can be devastating and crippling. It’s a very lonely loss when you used to do everything with your spouse. The benefit of attending a group where everyone has lost a spouse is that you are with people who can really understand. What we see as counselors, is as the group progresses through the weeks, the members bond more and more. They become each other’s best support and, hopefully, good friends. We encourage the social connection in the group and hope they continue to meet monthly for lunch or dinner for continued support.”
Participants are asked to commit to attending all or most of the eight sessions to benefit from the group. Each group session will revolve around specific topics, such as normalizing grief, sharing memories and adjusting to and finding meaning in loss.
“By offering this group for eight weeks, it enables participants to really get know each other,” OConnor said. “The sessions are a mixture of support and education. Past participants report they have found the group to be most helpful, especially knowing that they are not alone in their grief.”
There is a $25 enrollment fee, however, no one is ever turned away based on inability to pay.
“Losing your spouse is a lifelong grief journey,” Turner said. “Having people to support you, and who understand, makes all the difference. Our goal is to not only teach the attendees about grief and coping skills, but also to create supportive bonds that will carry them through the years to come.”
For more information and to register for the upcoming grief support group, contact Linda Turner at 443-262-4120 or lturner@compassregionalhospice.org; or Ann OConnor at 443-262-4124 or aoconnor@compassregionalhospice.org.
To learn more about other grief support programs and services available through Compass Regional Hospice, visit www.compassregionalhospice.org/hopeandhealing.
# # # #
~ Compass Regional Hospice – Care on your terms
Compass Regional Hospice is a fully licensed, independent, community-based nonprofit organization certified by Medicare and the state of Maryland and accredited by the Joint Commission. Since 1985, Compass Regional Hospice has been dedicated to supporting people of all ages through the challenge of living with a life-limiting illness and learning to live following the death of a loved one. Today, the organization is a regional provider of hospice care and grief support in Queen Anne’s, Kent and Caroline counties. “Care on your terms” is the promise that guides staff and volunteers as they care for patients in private residences, nursing homes, assisted living facilities and the residential hospice centers in Centreville and Chestertown. Grief support services are offered to children, adults and families of patients who died under hospice care, as well as members of the community who are grieving the loss of a loved one, through The Hope and Healing Center. For more information about Compass Regional Hospice, visit compassregionalhospice.org.