The Compassionate Friends

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 is a national nonprofit, self-help support organization that offers friendship and understanding to bereaved parents, grandparents and siblings.

There is no religious affiliation and there are no membership dues or fees. We cannot take away your pain, but we can offer hope, friendship and caring.

The secret of TCF's success is simple: As seasoned grievers reach out to the newly bereaved, energy that has been directed inward begins to flow outward and both are helped to heal.

We are truly sorry for the circumstances that made you eligible for our support group, but we are here to share your grief. We wish to extend our sympathy and warmly hold out our hands in friendship.

Attending your first meeting takes courage. Those who attend often find a comforting network of support that only other bereaved parents can provide. Please try attending at least 3 meetings before deciding if it is beneficial to you.

We need not walk alone. We are the Compassionate friends.

We reach out to each other with love, with understanding and with hope. Our children have died at all ages and from many different causes, but, our love for our children unites us.

Your pain becomes my pain just as your hope becomes my hope. We come together from all walks of life, from many different circumstances. We are a unique family because we represent all races and creeds.

We are young, and we are old. Some of us are far along in our grief, but, others still feel a grief so fresh and intensely painful that we feel helpless and see no hope. Some of us have found our faith to be a source for strength, some of us are struggling to find answers.

Some of us are angry, filled with guilt or in a deep depression; others radiate an inner peace. But whatever pain we bring to this gathering of The Compassionate Friends, it is pain we share just as we share with each other our love for our children.

We are all seeking and struggling to build a future for ourselves, but, are committed to building that future together as we reach out to each other in love and share the pain as well as the joy, share the anger as well as the peace, share the faith as well as the doubts and help each other grieve as well as to grow.

We need not walk alone. We are The Compassionate Friends.

For more information, including chapters all around the country, view the national organization's website.

There are 2 local Cleveland chapters.

TCF - Cuyahoga and Geauga Counties and

TCF - Southwest Cleveland