Bereaved Parents Month
Monday, July 24th, 2023
by Ellie Larsen, LMFT, QMHP, LAC
July is recognized as Bereaved Parents Month. It is a time to honor and support parents who have experienced the devastating loss of a child. The month aims to raise awareness about the unique challenges and grief that bereaved parents face, as well as to provide resources and support for them.
During Bereaved Parents Month, various organizations, support groups, and communities may hold events, workshops, and counseling sessions to help parents cope with their grief and connect with others who have gone through similar experiences. These initiatives often focus on providing emotional support, counseling services, and resources to help parents navigate the grieving process and find ways to remember and honor their child.
Bereaved Parents Month serves as a reminder to society about the importance of acknowledging and supporting parents who have lost a child. It provides an opportunity for communities to come together to offer compassion, understanding, and resources to bereaved parents, helping them through their healing journey.
What can you do to help support a grieving parent in your community?
- Call them
- Send a card
- Hug them
- Call the child by name (even if it was a baby named after death)
- Encourage them to share their feelings, as well as memories and stories
- Share you own memory of the child and/or pregnancy
- Listen to them, cry with them
- Be practical. Care for the other kids, bring food, clean the house, do the grocery shopping, do the laundry, care for pets, water house plants, etc…
Ellie is a therapist at the Stronghold Counseling office in Sioux Falls, SD. She and her husband of almost 20 years have four children. Their youngest child unexpectantly died shortly after birth. From their own personal journey as bereaved parents they have learned to navigate returning to the working world and parenting their three living children all well navigating their grief. With the help of Compassionate Friends of Sioux Falls, Healing Hope Ministries and the children’s grief ministry at Catholic Family Services (now known as The Lourdes Center) the family has learned there is life after death. And joy even in the midst of sorrow.
At all four of our locations - River Counseling Services in Platte, Sioux Falls Psychological Services, and Stronghold Counseling Services in Sioux Falls and in Yankton, our mission is this- we meet you where you are, offering hope. You may schedule an appointment at the Platte office at 605-337-3444 or meet with one of our Sioux Falls or Yankton based therapists from your computer, smartphone, or in person at any of our clinics. To schedule an appointment, please call 605-334-2696 or 605-334-7713.
