TCF in the media

Support following the loss of a child

Thank you to TCF member, Alison, for writing to The Guardian newspaper about the support she has received through The Compassionate Friends. Her letter was published in the print and online editions in February 2020. Fantastic publicity for our charity - we reprint her words below.

Support following the loss of a child

Alison Bender draws readers’ attention to The Compassionate Friends charity in the hope of helping anyone who is grieving.

Following your article (You never stop grieving, G2, 3 February), concerning the death of a child, may I please draw readers’ attention to The Compassionate Friends, a registered charity that is a network of bereaved parents, grandparents and siblings offering support to other similarly bereaved family members who have suffered the death of a child or children of any age and from any cause. The solace to be gained from the company of other parents who “just know” is hard to describe to those who have not experienced the anguish of this particular sort of bereavement. TCF is not very widely known – perhaps because most parents, myself included, shrink from contemplating losing a child. It was not until two years after the death of my 20-year-old daughter that I came across TCF, but it has helped save my sanity, and I wish I had found it sooner.

Alison Bender
Bigbury-on-Sea, Devon

www.theguardian.com/society/2020/feb/07/support-following-the-loss-of-a-child