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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 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 600 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.
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