Woman aims to start grief support group

A Fort Benton woman is working on finalizing a support group for those grieving the loss of a family member.

Gail Allen, the leader of the group, said she is working through the Compassionate Friends support group organization. This organization provides support to families who are experiencing the death of a son, daughter, brother, sister or grandchild.

Today, there are more than 650 chapters across the nation.

Allen, whose 23-year-old son died in 2012, is working on starting a chapter based in Chouteau County.

“In our county and in our town in the last, probably, five years, there have been a lot of young people who have died, be it an accident, or a suicide, or a natural death,” she said. “Just being around people that have experienced the same thing that you have makes it so that you can be where you’re understood.”

Allen said she is working on completing the paperwork process in order to get the chapter finalized and that the group will still hold meetings throughout the process.

“What I would like to see happen is that it’s a secure, safe place that people would feel free to come to to find help,” she said. “I want it to be a functioning group that is able to help people come out of the shock and the grief that accompanies losing a child.”

The group held their first organizational meeting earlier this month, and Allen said there was a positive receptiont.

“(A) mom said, ‘I wanted to see somebody who had lived through this experience and could smile again, or have any hope or joy again,’” she said. “The basic idea would be supporting one another and helping each other through the awfulness of dealing with that death and then finding that maybe you can breath again someday.”

Allen added that she plans on having various professionals, such as a grief psychologist give presentations to the members.

The group meets the second Monday of each month at Corder Crop Care in Fort Benton at 1312 Front St. at 7 p.m.

For more information on this group, contact Allen at 739-4258.

For more information on the Compassionate Friends organization, visit http://www.compassionatefriends.org.