Support circles and programs

You can come to a circle and not say a word.

Everything below is free for families, and every program is run by parents who have lost a pregnancy or a baby themselves. There is no intake process and no waiting list.

If you're newly grieving

What we offer

Four programs, all free for families. All led by people who have been here.

Weekly support circles

Small groups of bereaved parents meeting in person and online. Drop in any week, or join a six-week cohort.

Comfort boxes

Sent to a family in the first month after loss. A journal, a candle, a soft blanket, and a hand-written note from someone who has been there.

Memorial photography

Free professional photography at the hospital, through a network of partner volunteer photographers. Available 24 hours a day.

Annual remembrance gathering

First Saturday of October. A quiet outdoor service with the option to read a name aloud. Open to anyone.

WHAT A CIRCLE IS ACTUALLY LIKE

Ninety minutes, eight or nine people, and no requirement to speak.

A facilitator opens, someone reads the group agreement aloud, and then the time belongs to whoever wants it. People cry, and people also laugh, sometimes in the same hour. Nobody offers advice unless it is asked for, and nobody tells you what your grief should look like by now.

You can bring your partner, or come alone. You can leave the room at any point and come back. You can attend once and never return, and no one will follow up unless you ask us to.

Where most families start

There is no correct order, and you can use one program or all four. This is only what tends to happen.

In the hospital, or within a day or two Memorial photography. Call at any hour and a volunteer photographer is dispatched. No cost, and no paperwork at the bedside.
In the first month A comfort box, requested by you or by someone who loves you. Most families tell us the hand-written note mattered more than anything in the box.
When you are ready to be in a room with other people A weekly circle. Some parents come in the first week, some come two years later, and both are ordinary here.
Every October, for as long as you want it The remembrance gathering. Families come back years afterward, often with children born later, and read a name aloud.

SUPPORT THE WORK

Comfort boxes are free for the family. They aren't free for us.

A gift of $40 sends one comfort box to a family in the first month after their loss. A gift of $200 supports a six-week cohort. We are a 501(c)(3); your gift is tax-deductible.

Give a comfort box Other ways to give