Support between meetings.
Grief doesn’t keep a schedule. Between our monthly meetings, The Compassionate Friends national organization offers support any time of day or night: online groups for every kind of loss, live chats, a magazine, webinars and more.
National resources
Live online chats
Virtual support sessions with other bereaved parents, grandparents and siblings over 18, including sessions for specific kinds of loss.
Join a chat →We Need Not Walk Alone magazine
National’s seasonal magazine, published four times a year and written by bereaved parents, grandparents and siblings. Read it online or download it.
Read the magazine →Webinars
Free online talks on grief, the holidays, siblings, self-care and more, live and recorded.
See webinars →Worldwide Candle Lighting
Each December, families around the world light candles so the light circles the globe for a whole day. Our chapter gathers that evening too.
Learn more →Books and articles
Recommended reading on grief after the death of a child, and articles from national’s blog.
Books · BlogFor the newly bereaved
National’s gentle guide for parents in the first days and weeks after their child has died.
Read the guide →For family, friends and co-workers
How to support someone after the death of their child, including guidance for employers and co-workers.
Family · Co-workersCalendar and retreats
National events throughout the year, including virtual retreats, webinars and the Worldwide Candle Lighting.
See the calendar →National Conference
A gathering of bereaved families from across the country, with workshops, sharing sessions and remembrance.
Conference details →Find others whose loss is like yours.
National runs private Facebook groups for nearly every kind of loss, open around the clock and moderated by bereaved parents, siblings and grandparents. Only members can see what’s posted.
How to join
- Click the group you’d like to join.
- Answer all three short questions. Your request can’t be approved without them. On a phone, scroll down to see them all.
- A moderator will approve you, usually within a few days. If it takes longer than three days, message one of the group’s administrators.
Each person must ask to join for themselves. To help someone else, send them the link. New groups are added from time to time, so you can also see national’s complete, current list.
Loss of a child, by age
For siblings
For grandparents
How your child died
Your family’s circumstances
Reading for the long road
Books other bereaved families have found helpful, chosen from The Compassionate Friends’ recommended reading. Read only what helps, a page at a time if that’s all you can manage.
For bereaved parents
- The Bereaved Parent
Harriet Sarnoff Schiff - The Worst Loss: How Families Heal from the Death of a Child
Barbara D. Rosof - We Need Not Walk Alone After the Death of a Child
Mary Cleckley, Elizabeth Estes & Priscilla Norton - A Broken Heart Still Beats: After Your Child Dies
Anne McCracken & Mary Semel - The Death of an Adult Child
Jeanne Webster Blank
For fathers
- Grieving Dads: To the Brink and Back
Kelly Farley & David DiCola - Sometimes I Cry in the Shower
R. Glenn Kelly - Lament for a Son
Nicholas Wolterstorff
For siblings and children
- Coping With Sibling Loss in Adulthood
Esther Beall - Why Don’t They Cry? Understanding Your Living Child’s Grief
Zander Sprague - Bereaved Children and Teens: A Support Guide for Parents
Earl A. Grollman
After suicide or sudden loss
- My Son… My Son: A Guide to Healing After Death, Loss, or Suicide
Iris Bolton - After Suicide Loss: Coping With Your Grief
Jack Jordan & Bob Baugher - Coping with Traumatic Death: Homicide
Bob Baugher
Comfort for each day
- Healing After Loss: Daily Meditations for Working Through Grief
Martha Whitmore Hickman - Grief One Day at a Time
Alan D. Wolfelt - A Grace Disguised: How the Soul Grows Through Loss
Jerry Sittser
When the world doesn’t understand
- It’s OK That You’re Not OK
Megan Devine - Bearing the Unbearable: Love, Loss, and the Heartbreaking Path of Grief
Joanne Cacciatore - Why Are the Casseroles Always Tuna? A Loving Look at the Lighter Side of Grief
Darcie Sims
Borrow from our lending library
Our chapter keeps a library of grief books, most bought with chapter funds and donations. Ask at any meeting to borrow one, and return it when you’re ready so the next parent can read it.
Have a book that helped you? Please donate it to our library. You can write your child’s name inside so it’s given in their memory. We’re also looking for a volunteer to look after the library. See how you can help.
Other organizations that understand
These groups support families after many kinds of loss. They aren’t part of The Compassionate Friends and listing them isn’t an endorsement, but other families have found them helpful.
Here in Tampa Bay
- AMEND Tampa
Free, peer-led support after pregnancy or newborn loss, meeting in Tampa, St. Pete and on Zoom - LifePath Hospice grief services (Chapters Health)
Free grief support groups open to anyone who is grieving, not only hospice families. Call 866-204-8611 - BayCare bereavement support
Support groups and pastoral care after the loss of a baby, including at St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital. Call 1-800-BayCare - Suncoast Kids Place
Peer support groups for grieving children, teens and their families in Lutz, plus HALOS suicide loss support and Camp Erin. Call 813-990-0216 - Hillsborough State Attorney Victim Assistance
Court advocates for families after a homicide or other crime: case updates, someone to sit with you in court, and help finding support. Call 813-272-6472
For bereaved parents
- GRASP
Grief Recovery After a Substance Passing: peer support for families who lost someone to substance use or overdose - Bereaved Parents of the USA
Support for bereaved parents, siblings and grandparents - Alive Alone
For parents whose only child or all children have died - griefHaven
For those who have lost a child, sibling or grandchild - Open to Hope
Articles and stories for bereaved families - Still Standing Magazine
Online magazine on surviving child loss and infertility - Stepping Through Grief
Facebook community for grieving families
Loss of a baby
- SHARE Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support
After miscarriage, stillbirth or newborn death - Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep
Volunteer photographers who preserve precious memories - Center for Loss in Multiple Births (CLIMB)
When one or more babies of a multiple birth die - First Candle
Support after SIDS and other sudden infant death, with peer and sibling support. Grief Line 800-221-7437 - SUDC Foundation
Sudden unexplained death in childhood, over 12 months
For siblings, twins and children
- Blessings for Barrett
Free comfort boxes and grief support for children and teens whose brother or sister has died - Comfort Zone Camp
Free camps for children 7 to 17 who have lost a sibling or parent - Twinless Twins
For twins and multiples who have lost their twin - GriefNet
Email support groups for parents, siblings and grandparents, plus KIDSAID for children
After suicide
- American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
Support for loss survivors, including a directory of local groups - Find a suicide loss support group
AFSP’s directory, listed as a public service - Tampa Out of the Darkness Walk
AFSP’s yearly walk at Al Lopez Park, where families walk together in memory of loved ones lost to suicide - 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or text 988, any time
After a sudden or violent death
- Parents Of Murdered Children (POMC)
Support for families of homicide victims - MADD
Free victim advocates and support for families after a drunk or drugged driving crash. Help line 877-275-6233 (877-ASK-MADD). Want to help change the laws? Join MADD’s advocates - TAPS
For all who have lost someone serving in the Armed Forces - ACCESS
Peer support after an air disaster
Illness, hospice and planning
- CancerCare
Free support, including after losing a child to cancer - Hospice Foundation of America
Hospice care and bereavement support - AARP Grief and Loss
Articles and resources for grieving families - National Funeral Directors Association
Grief resources and help planning a service
When children are grieving
For a child who has lost a parent, brother or sister, and for the parents and grandparents caring for them.
- Suncoast Kids Place, Lutz
Peer support groups for grieving children, teens and their families, and Camp Erin. Call 813-990-0216 - Comfort Zone Camp
Free camps for children 7 to 17 who have lost a parent or sibling - The Dougy Center
Free tip sheets and activities to help children grieve, written for the adults caring for them - National Alliance for Children’s Grief
Find a children’s grief program near you - Their school counselor
Let the school know, so the child has a safe person to go to on hard days - Social Security survivor benefits
Children who lost a parent may qualify for monthly benefits. Call 800-772-1213
Looking for a grief counselor?
Our meetings are peer support, not counseling, and many families find both helpful. Psychology Today’s directory lets you find therapists near Tampa who specialize in grief. Your health insurance can tell you which counselors are covered.
Online memorials
Some families create an online memorial where friends can share photos and memories, through sites like Legacy. Your child is also always welcome in our newsletter. Have your child remembered →
Our chapter
The Compassionate Friends national office
If you are in crisis or thinking about ending your life, please call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, any time of day or night. You can also call 911. More crisis lines
You need not walk alone.