Grief Support Resources

Help may be a click away

If you or someone you know has thoughts of death or suicide,
help is available. Speak with someone today!

National Suicide Hotline
(800) 273 – 8255

Text Crisis Line
TEXT “HOME” TO 741741

Suicide Loss Helpline
(800) 646 – 7322

Grief Groups for Adults

Grief & the Holidays

When: November 2024 (exact date TBD)

Where: Kilkarney Hills Golf Course & Banquet Facility
163 Radio Road, River Falls, WI

Cost: Free

Refreshments will be served. There is no fee to attend, but please
bring a donation of a non-perishable food item for the local food pantry.

RSVP by calling O’Connell Funeral Homes at 715-386-3725
Limited seating, please reserve your today!
Download PDF

Weathering Life’s Losses

When: Meets every Thursday 6:30-7:30pm

Where: via Zoom.

Cost: Free

Contact: Register by contacting Monique at

mdosdall.stcroixchaplaincy@gmail.com

or (651) 239-8441.

More info at: St. Croix Chaplaincy Facebook Page

Paths to Peace Support Group (HUDSON)

When: 8 weeks on Tuesdays, January 30 – March 26th, 2024

2-3:30pm and 5:30-7pm

Where: Our Hudson Chapel – 520 S. 11th St., Hudson

Cost: Free

Contact: Registration Required.

Call O’Connell Funeral Home (715) 386-3725 to reserve your spot
Download PDF

Paths to Peace Support Group (ELLSWORTH)

When: 8 weeks on Mondays, January 29 – March 25th, 2024

2-3:30pm

Where: Our Ellsworth Chapel – 130 North Grant Street, Ellsworth, WI

Cost: Free

Contact: Registration Required.

Call O’Connell Funeral Home (715) 273-4421 to reserve your spot
Download PDF

Growing Through Loss

When: Mondays for 6 weeks in the Spring and Fall – 6:45-9:00pm

Where: Rotating location around Twin Cities – visit website for details

Cost: Free

Info: First 45 minutes will host a speaker who present son grief related topics, then small group break out sessions afterwards 

Contact: www.growingthroughloss.org or 763-755-5335

BeFriender Ministry

BeFrienders provides pastoral care through a listening presence for anyone experiencing: Hospitalization, cancer or chronic illness, families of deployed military, resident of a nursing facility, addiction, post-partum depression, stress of being a caregiver, death of a loved one, loneliness, getting married or divorced

Offered through Bethel Lutheran Church

(715) 386-8821 or kristink@bethelhudson.org 

Brighter Days Grief Center (Adults, Children, and Families)

When: One-on-one and group programs via email, phone, or virtual appointments.

Where: Free grief resources in and around the Minnesota metro area.

Cost: Free

Contact: (952) 303-3873 or  info@bdgc.us

https://www.brighterdaysgriefcenter.org

Grief Share (Adults)

When: Weekly Christian-based groups for 13 weeks, providing support via video, group discussion, and personal study and reflection.

Where: Various support groups in the Twin Cities and Western Wisconsin area

Cost: Varies

Contact: To find a group near you – https://www.griefshare.org/findagroup

Widows Might (Adults)

When: Monthly groups geared towards women who have lost their spouse/partner

Where: Various support groups and larger events in the Twin Cities and Western Wisconsin area

Cost: Free

Contact: For more information contact: (763) 486-8192 or local group facilitators – Lois Grant dlahjj@aol.com & Charlotte Nisleit rnisleit@aol.com

https://www.widowmight.org

Grief Groups for Children or Child Loss

Kids & Teens in Grief

When: Three 6-week sessions per year, from 6:00 – 7:15pm

Where: Boutwell’s Landing in Stillwater

Cost: No charge

Contact: Must/should pre-register by contacting Chaplain Bob @ Lakeview Hospital: 651-430-4586

Children’s Grief Connection/Hearts of Hope Family Grief Camp

Free, in-person day camps to help families come together to heal, serving family members from preschool through grandparenthood.

https://childrensgriefconnection.com/get-healing/

For more information contact: (651) 395-8177 or jessica@childrensgriefconnection.com

or hope@childrensgriefconnection.com

Cost: free ($150 refundable deposit)

Grieving Kids & Teens

When: Meets 3rd Monday of Each Month, 7-9PM

Where: 1725 Grand Ave, St. Paul MN

Cost: No charge

Contact: Must pre-register by contacting Tracy Toner – (651) 587-8006

Camp Hope

Free, weekend camp in central Wisconsin where children and teenagers from throughout the state gather to work through the grieving process after a loved one dies.

For more information contact: Becky Loy – (715) 341-0076

www.camphopeforkids.org

Living With Grief (Youth Program)

When: Meets 3rd Thursday of each month

Ages 5-12: 5-5:45pm |  Ages 13-18 6-6:45pm |  Parent/Caregiver: 7-7:45pm

Where: Virtual

Cost: No charge

Info: A safe space for grieving children and teens to connect and receive support. Registration is required.

Contact: (612) 813-7216 or bereavement@childrensMN.org

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Support Group (Adults)

When: Meets 2nd Monday of each month

Where: Virtual

Cost: No charge

Info: Helping parents whose baby has died through ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, stillbirth, or newborn death

Contact: Registration is required. (612) 813-7216 or bereavement@childrensMN.org

Individual Counseling & Help Lines

Crossbridge Family Solutions, LLC

Nationally Certified Family Life Educator providing support and assistance to struggling families during extremely difficult life events and seasons. As a Certified Funeral Celebrant, Grief Support Group Facilitator, and Certified in Spirituality, Health, and Healing, she provides knowledgable, individualized psychological and spiritual care to grieving families. Located in Baldwin, WI

For more information contact:

Kathleen Helgeson, MA, CFLE – (612) 501-2744

Awaken Counseling & Coaching

Passionate professional dedicated to help you Design Your Life. She can help resolve challenges in your life and find solutions to build action steps towards your big dreams and highest purpose through: Counseling, Personal Coaching, Business Coaching, Group Coaching, and Speaking Engagements.

Office Location: 808 Heggen St., Hudson, WI

Maria Shea, MA, LPC – (715) 505-7268 

www.mariashea.com

National Alliance on Mental Health (NAMI)

St. Croix/Pierce County – River Falls, WI namiscv@gmail.com (608) 301-5440

Barron County – Rice Lake namibarroncounty@gmail.com 

(715) 736-0089

Eau Claire/Chippewa/Dunn County – Eau Claire namicv@yahoo.com (715) 450-6484

Family Means: Center for Grief & Loss (Adults, Children, and Families)

When: Counseling and therapy services

Where: Offices in: Stillwater, MN, Eau Claire, WI, Hudson, WI, Rochester, MN, and St. Paul, MN

Cost: Varies

Contact: for more information contact: (651) 641-0177

https://www.griefloss.org

Books & Online Resources

Cry Until You Laugh: Comforting Guidance for Coping with Grief

Richard J. Obsershaw, MSW, LICSW, Beaver’s Pond Press Inc., 2010

It’s Ok That You’re Note Ok: Meeting Grief and Loss in Culture That Doesn’t Understand

Megan Devine, Sounds True Inc., 2017

A Comforted Heart: An oncology psychotherapists perspective on finding meaning and hope during illness and loss

Kelly Grosklags, LICSW, Conversations with Kelly, CWK Publishers, 2017

How to Survive the Loss of a Love

Harold H. Bloomfield M.D., Mebla Colgrove Ph.D., and Peter McWilliams. Mary Books/Prelude Press, 2000

Bearing the Unbearable: Love, Loss, and the Heartbreaking Path of Grief

Joanne Cacciatore, Wisdom Publications, 2017

A Grief Observed

C.S. Lewis, HarperOne, 1961

A Comforted Heart: An oncology psychotherapists perspective on finding meaning and hope during illness and loss

Kelly Grosklags, LICSW, Conversations with Kelly, CWK Publishers, 2017

Healing A Spouses’s Heart: 100 Practical Ideas After Your Husband or Wife Dies

Alan Wolfelt Ph.D., Companion Press, 2003

The Hot Young Widows Club: Lessons on Survival from the Front Lines of Grief

Nora McInerny, Simon & Schuster, 2019

The Group: Seven Widowed Fathers Reimagine Life

Donald L. Rosentstein and Justin Yopp, Oxford University Press, 2018

After Suicide Loss: Coping with Your Grief, 2nd Edition

Jack Jordan and Bob Baugher, Caring People Press, 2016

Bruised and Wounded: Struggling to Understand Suicide

Ronald Rolheiser, Paraclete Press, 2018

Myths about Suicide

Thomas Joiner, Harvard University Press, 2011

No Time to Say Goodbye: Surviving the Suicide of a Loved One

Carla Fine, Main Street Books, 2011

Supporting Children after a Suicide Loss: A Guide for Parents and Caregivers

Sarah S. Montgomery and Susan M. Coale, Chesapeake Life Center, 2015

Voices of Healing and Hope: Conversations on Grief after Suicide

Iris Bolton, Bolton Press Atlanta, 2017

Why People Die by Suicide

Thomas E. Joiner, Harvard University Press, 2005

Tear Soup: A Recipe for Healing After Loss

Pat Schwiebert and Chuck DeKlyen, Perinatal Loss, 1999 (for ages 3+)

When Families Grieve (A Sesame Street DVD, A Guide for Parents and Caregivers, and A Children’s Story)

Sesame Street, Talk, Listen, Connect, 2010 (for ages 3+)

After a Death: An Activity Book for Children

Amy Barrett Lindholm, Donna L. Schuurman, Joan Schweizer Hoff, and Rebecca Hobbs Lawrence, The Dougy Center for Grieving Children, 2007 (for ages 5-12)

The Invisible String

Patrice Karst, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, (for ages 4-8)

Healing Your Grieving Heart for Teens: 100 Practical Ideas – Simple tips for understanding and expressing your grief

Alan D. Wolfelt Ph.D., Companion Press, 2001 (for ages 12-18)