4 November 2021, 19.00 – 20.30

Online Via Zoom

PLEASE NOTE WE WILL BE GIVING PRIORITY TO THOSE WHO HAVE NOT ATTENDED ONE OF OUR ONLINE SUPPORT GROUPS BEFORE

LOSING A CHILD TO SUBSTANCE OR ALCOHOL USE

The death of our son or daughter is probably the worst thing that can happen to us as parents, no matter how old they were and no matter how it came about. For each of us, our pain and loss are unique. Sometimes it can feel almost impossible to imagine life without our loved one.

For those of us who go through drug or alcohol related bereavement, there are added complications. We may face social stigma and isolation.

Our child may have had the added challenge of living with a mental health condition, such as depression or anxiety. It might have been such challenges that led them to feel that the use of substances, illicit or otherwise, would help them cope.

Whatever the background to our child’s death, the result is a dreadful tragedy that causes us almost unimaginable pain.

At this time we are running this event as a facilitated online group using Zoom .

Unfortunately due to the nature of online groups we will be limiting the number of attendees and booking is via our website only.

We will confirm your attendance by email.

If this event is fully booked we are hoping to run further groups at a later date to give more parents the opportunity to attend.

We will be giving priority to those who have not attended an online TCF group before.

Once you book you will receive more details closer to the meeting date. Just a reminder to check your spam or junk email folders if you haven’t received the link for the online meeting by the day of the meeting. Please contact info@tcf.org.uk if you have any questions or queries.

Please note that these online events are run by bereaved parent volunteers. Our volunteers are not professionals and so what we offer is a uniquely warm, comforting and supportive online group organised and facilitated by parents who have also experienced the loss of a child and have found understanding and hope themselves through The Compassionate Friends.

If you are newly bereaved:
Please note, our online support group meetings may not be the most appropriate form of support for very newly bereaved parents. We know how vulnerable we can be in the early weeks and months of our grief and how raw the pain and heartache can feel.

In an online support environment, we will of course do all we can to express our empathy to newly bereaved parents verbally but we won’t be able to offer the very important physical presence and contact that physical groups can offer especially when parents become very upset. Our online meetings tend to be shorter than physical meetings which also means that we won’t have as much time to hear from all group members in the ways in which we would do if we were meeting face to face.

We know that in the early days of our grief, there is a strong need to tell our ‘story’ about the loss of our precious child. We know that this is a very important part of grieving – however, our support groups, whether online or face to face can only offer the opportunity to say a little about your loss and in not too much detail so as to enable everyone to have a chance to speak and also to minimise the risk of anyone attending being re-traumatised around their own loss by hearing graphic details of someone else’s loss. It would help to know how early you are in your loss and whether you are already receiving TCF support – what we don’t wish to do is increase the vulnerability of any bereaved parent by not managing your expectations about what our support group offers and is unable to offer. We may make contact if we need to explore with you whether our online group support is the most appropriate way to support you at this stage in your loss.

Please note this group is for bereaved parents in the UK only – if you want to join from abroad please contact us on events@tcf.org.uk

What parents on previous groups have said:

'I think it is easier and less daunting to share sensitive feelings online, rather than face to face'

'The hosts ran the meeting very tenderly and provided a warm safe place to talk or listen'

'...without saying too much I automatically know the struggles they and their children had...I think it is very helpful because we get it even more. No one felt the stigma or judgemental attitude'

Please give your feedback here.