The Compassionate Friends is a self-help organization offering friendship, understanding, hope, and support to those who have lost a child, a sibling, or grandchild of any age, due to any cause. There are over 500 chapters around the country, and many more around the world, led by volunteers who have who have all experienced the loss of children, siblings, or grandchildren.
Our Boston chapter of TCF meets the first Tuesday of every month at Trinity Episcopal Church in Copley Square, in downtown Boston. The church is located at 206 Clarendon Street, one block from the Copley Square MBTA stop. We meet in the lower level of the church from 6:00-7:30 p.m. We also meet on Zoom on the second Tuesday of the month, also from 6:00–7:30 p.m.
In addition, we offer subgroup meetings on Zoom for specific groups of people and topics. For example, we have led subgroups for those who have lost an only child; for those who have lost a loved one to due to substance use; for those whose loved ones have taken their own lives; and for those who have lost a loved one after a long illness. Check the meeting schedule linked below for upcoming subgroup meetings, which start on Zoom at 7:00 p.m. Note that the start time is an hour later than for our general meetings.
Please contact us at tcfofboston@gmail.com to obtain the link for our Zoom meetings.
You are welcome to bring along a friend or family member for support, especially at the first meeting.
The Compassionate Friends meetings are not counseling sessions; we are a support group. Participants are all bereaved parents, adult siblings, or grandparents who are dealing with the death of a child. We have been where you are and we continue to return to offer friendship and support through the natural grieving process after a child dies. You will hear from others whose children have died—at all ages and from all causes. Some who attend will be young, and some will be old. Some will come alone, while others will come with a spouse or family member. Some have just lost their loved one while others have been grieving for many, many years.
If you are not yet ready to talk about your loss, there is no obligation at all to speak. A great deal can be gained by listening to others. Because everyone else at the meetings has had a similar experience, they understand much of what you are feeling. You will eventually reach a comfort level with those you meet. We want our meetings to be a safe place for all, so we ask that you treat conversations from the meetings as confidential. After a topic is introduced, we sometimes break into smaller groups for discussion and in those groups, speaking is always optional, too.
Support groups are not for everyone, but we recommend coming to three meetings before making a decision about continuing. Each meeting is a little bit different depending upon who leads it, who participates, and what topics we discuss.
More than 20,000 bereaved parents, siblings, and grandparents in need of support attend The Compassionate Friends meetings in the U.S. every month. We are so deeply sorry for the loss that has brought you here, but we are glad that you have found us. We hope that our group will be a support to you, just as it has been to so many others.
While our regular meetings are held in English, we do have several active participants who are native Spanish speakers. If you are looking for grief support and are more comfortable speaking in Spanish, reach out to us at TCFofBoston@gmail.com and we will connect you with someone who can help you.