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.
Seven Principles
The Compassionate Friends was established based upon seven
principles. The principles are reviewed and minor wording changes
have been made from time to time, but they continue to stand the
test of time.
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TCF offers friendship,
understanding, and hope to bereaved parents, siblings, and
grandparents.
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TCF believes that bereaved
parents, siblings, and grandparents can help each other toward a
positive resolution of grief.
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TCF reaches out across society's
barriers to all bereaved parents, siblings, and grandparents.
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TCF understands that every
members has individual needs and rights.
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TCF reaches out to the bereaved
primarily through our community of local chapters.
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TCF chapters belong to their
members.
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TCF chapters are coordinated
nationally to extend help to each other, and to bereaved
parents, siblings, and grandparents everywhere.
The Compassionate Friends National Organization
