The death of a child is one of the most painful experiences a parent can go through, and having grief support resources and counseling are important to begin the healing process. Please see the resources below.
Scribbles & Crumbs
www.scribblesandcrumbs.com
Follow the grief experience and journey of Lexi Behrndt as she shares her thoughts and feelings about the loss of her son, Charlie, who was born with congenital heart disease. “I believe in giving people room to be whatever they need to me,” Lexi says. “Messy. Broken. No matter what form we come in, we are still loved. We are still enough.”
Still Standing Magazine
www.stillstandingmag.com
Still Standing Magazine addresses how people can persevere following the loss of a child or other painful situations. The site has a wide range of content and discusses the many different forms that grief and loss can take.
MISS Foundation
www.missfoundation.org
The MISS Foundation, a volunteer organization, was established in 1996 and helps parents who have experienced the loss of a baby or a child of any age. It has also been very successful in legislative and advocacy-related issues.
The Compassionate Friends
www.compassionatefriends.org
The Compassionate Friends aims to help families who have had a child die and are struggling to find the normalcy to get their lives back on track. Its goal is to get individuals back into society and out of the isolation typically experienced when a loss occurs.
Missing GRACE Foundation
www.missinggrace.org
The Missing GRACE Foundation is a nonprofit organization providing care and support for families suffering the death of a child. The foundation has created a beautiful 4,000-square-foot facility, called the Center for G.R.A.C.E., which is open to the public. Families come to the center from throughout Minnesota and the Midwest for counseling, classes, support groups, and prayer, as well as to connect with others on a similar journey. The foundation also provides CE courses and bereavement services.
Bereaved Parents of the USA
www.bereavedparentsusa.org
Bereaved Parents of the USA is a national, non-profit, self-help group that offers support, understanding, compassion and hope to bereaved parents, grandparents and siblings. All work on both the national and chapter level is done by volunteer bereaved parents with a strong desire to help other families cope with the death of their child.
Journey Of Hearts
www.journeyofhearts.org
This website was created by a physician, with content contributed by colleagues, friends and website visitors, to support people following a loss or a significant life change.
Grief Net
www.griefnet.org
GriefNet is an Internet community of people dealing with grief, death and major loss. It includes 37 email support groups and two web sites. Its companion site, KIDSAID, provides a safe environment for kids and their parents to find information and ask questions.
Open to Hope
www.opentohope.com
Open to Hope is a nonprofit organization with the mission of helping people find hope after loss. People are invited to read, listen and share their stories of hope and compassion.
The Dougy Center
www.dougy.org
The mission of The Dougy Center is to provide support in a safe place where children, teens, young adults and their families who are grieving a death can share their experiences. The website provides educational materials about children and grief, as well as training opportunities to local and national agencies. The center is widely known for its grief-support group model.
The National Organization of Parents of Murdered Children
www.pomc.com
This is an organization specifically for the survivors of homicide victims, which provides supportive family services after the murder of a family member or friend.
Grief Blogs
Sharing experiences of grief with others who have gone through similar things is an effective way to cope. Many have chosen to blog about their experiences of loss, and there are online communities where grieving people can find others to share their emotions with.
What’s Your Grief?
www.whatsyourgrief.com
What’s Your Grief? is run by two mental health professionals who specialize in grief education and work to reinforce supporting others in any way possible. The aim of the site is to expand the conversation in order to find innovative new solutions to assisting those most in need.
Grieving Dads Project
www.grievingdads.com
Grieving Dads Project goes in-depth in discussing the issues faced by fathers who deal with loss. The blog’s goal is to provide the necessary support to help these men live productive lives.
The Grief Healing Blog
www.griefhealingblog.com
The Grief Healing Blog makes a great tool for caregivers and professionals to assist those coping with grief on multiple levels. By looking at loss, grief and the transition process, the site is aptly equipped to address some of the most important issues.
Facets of Life
www.facetsoflifeafterloss.blogspot.com
Facets of Life is run by a woman who suffered a uterine rupture, which nearly claimed her life and took her son’s. The blog details the immense grief that can result from this type of loss.
Friend Grief
www.friendgrief.com
Friend Grief functions as a meeting place for those who have lost a friend and are struggling to cope with it. Since many people have not experienced a significant loss, it makes it hard for them to relate, thus further isolating individuals who are struggling. This is where Friend Grief comes in, providing a place to connect with others feeling the same things.
Refuge in Grief
www.refugeingrief.com
Refuge in Grief focuses on assisting those individuals who are coping with an unexpected or out-of-order death, life-changing illness or injury, and other events that may be related to coping concerning something not foreseen. Their timely aid has assisted countless individuals across the country and can prove to be integral to not feeling alone.
Love, Hope and Courage
www.lovehopeandcourage.wordpress.com
Love, Hope and Courage empowers those feeling loss with useful posts to help anyone work through what they’re feeling. Written by a wife who suffered a stillbirth and then lost her 2-year-old son shortly after, she understands the challenges of working through these complex issues.
Still Life with Circles
www.stilllifewithcircles.blogspot.com
Still Life with Circles describes an experience of dealing with a stillborn birth that occurred at the 38th week of pregnancy. The blog shows various rituals and acts done to commemorate the child and provides a useful perspective on how others deal with grief.
Hello Grief
www.hellogrief.org
Hello Grief works to help those who are grieving gain a better understanding of their feelings and how to deal with them. The site features community support, sharing and remembering, stories, validation and more.