Compassionate Friends shows loved ones they need not walk alone
If your child were to be taken from you suddenly by accident, violence or another type of tragedy, who would you turn to for support?
As a mother of three small children, I cannot imagine that this loss is anything less than excruciatingly devastating while at the same time inciting rage and incredulity. A person may feel alone, isolated and unable to find a vent for these feelings; yet, a safe place to unload and feel embraced in the darkest of times is close at hand.
Compassionate Friends is a nonprofit organization that offers unconditional support to parents who are agonizing over such an ostensibly insurmountable loss. Vivian Kehrer, chapter leader of the Sarasota Compassionate Friends, is herself a parent who experienced the tragic loss of her son to a car accident when he was merely 16 years old. She offers up support and empathy while also encouraging the celebration of the lives of those lost.
Members of Compassionate Friends prepare to launch balloons with messages to loved ones during the group’s inaugural Walk in the Park in 2008.
"We do not stop being their parents and they do not stop being our children," she says in a voice that resonates with calm. Then she adds thoughtfully, "It is just as important to celebrate their lives as it is to grieve the loss."
In honor of those lives, on Saturday, Oct. 17, Compassionate Friends is hosting its second annual Love Ones Remembered Walk in the Park. The event, to be held at 9 a.m. at Twin Lakes Park, 6700 Clark Road, promises to be a truly moving occasion, Kehrer says.
The Sarasota Military Academy Drumline and Riverview High School student Jasmine Atkins’ rendition of "God Bless America" will kick off the event, with the walk beginning promptly at 9:30 a.m. Sarasota Dove Release will be releasing doves at 10:30 a.m. in honor of the souls and spirits of the children taken from their loved ones far too soon.
There will also be an opportunity for supporters and parents to write messages on balloons which will be released in unity, sending those feelings soaring toward the heavens. Others participating in the event will be the cheerleaders of Bay Shore High School, who recently lost a friend to senseless violence, and Red Tiger Martial Arts, whose members will be performing after the dove release.
Refreshments donated by local businesses will be provided, and entertainment supplied by Booker High’s four-piece band "Impromptu" will keep the energy up, Kehrer says.
Students may attend for free; adults who donate $20 to the walk will receive a T-shirt commemorating the event. Raffles and prizes will add to the festivities.
The reason the walk was organized, according to Kehrer, is to "raise awareness in the community and to let people know that there is a safe place not only to grieve but to commemorate the lives of their children."
Compassionate Friends holds group meetings on a regular basis, allowing parents who attend to become conscious of the fact that they are not alone – that there are others who are struggling to cope or are willing to lend a shoulder and an ear. The group meets the second Monday of every month, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., at Central Church of Christ, 6221 Proctor Road in Sarasota.
During the upcoming holidays – which Kehrer is careful to note are most often the hardest times for grieving parents – Compassionate Friends will have its own Thanksgiving dinner in lieu of a meeting, offering extra support on what many perceive as the most family-oriented of all special occasions.
Additionally, a candlelight ceremony on Dec. 13 has been scheduled in remembrance of those lost.
For more information about any of the upcoming events or meetings, or if you are suffering and uncertain of where to turn or how to cope with the loss of a child, visit www.compassionatefriends.homestead.com; send an e-mail to the local chapter at celebrationsisters@comcast.net or contact Vivian Kehrer at 941-365-4230. Compassionate Friends members’ goal is to make sure people see that dealing with grief does not have to be a solitary journey.
October 14th 2009 - 8:44PM