Support Groups

Grief Support Group

Six week grief support group for anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one.

Hospice of Northeast Missouri, a service of Hannibal Regional, offers a six-week grief support group for anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one. Groups are traditionally offered in the fall and spring.

Topics include: understanding the grief process; personal loss history and its impact on the grief process; distinguishing between grief and mourning, dealing with insensitive people; grief’s impact on a family system; self-care and observing special occasions. Group facilitators are Carrol Davenport, Spiritual Care and Bereavement Coordinator and John Bambrick, Chaplain and Social Worker. The groups take place at Hospice of Northeast Missouri Conference Room in Kirksville, Mo.

All are welcome to attend. For more information about an upcoming grief group, please call Hospice of Northeast Missouri at at 660-627-9711.

Sponsored by Hospice of Northeast Missouri, a service of Hannibal Regional, the only nonprofit hospice health care service in northeast Missouri that focuses on quality of life for people and their caregivers who are experiencing an advanced, life-limiting illness. Hospice of Northeast Missouri, a partner agency of the United Way of Northeast Missouri, serves Adair, Clark, Knox, Lewis, Macon, Putnam, Schuyler, Scotland, Sullivan, and Shelby counties.

Parent Support Group

An ongoing support group for parents who have had to grieve the death of a child.

The pain around the death of one’s child is unimaginable.

Parents who have had to grieve the death of a child will tell you that the most helpful thing they have done has been to surround themselves with other parents who are also grieving and have some understanding of their experience.

In the fall of 2014, at our 6-week grief support group, there were several parents who attended whose children had died. As that group came to an end, they asked if they could continue meeting, and since that time Hospice of Northeast Missouri has held a weekly grief support group for parents. Some have attended for a brief time, and there are some parents who attended in 2014 who continue to attend today. Their presence is valuable as new parents join and begin the journey of grieving the loss of a child.

Whatever the circumstances of the death of your child, and whatever the age at death, we welcome you to come and sit with other parents who are also grieving but can support you in your grief.

Comments from previous support group participants:

"This group allows us to cry, reflect and question without judgment. It is my safe place. We may learn to deal with the grief but the pain and love of that loss never goes away."

"This group gives us a chance to cry and talk about our loved one and to have others listen to us is healing and a huge part of the processing the grief."

"These people became family in a short time and helped us realize that what we experience would be our new normal, and the loss would stay with us until we were together with them again. In less than 25 months, we lost another adult child, but this time, we knew our group was the lifeline we could count on to see us through to some better days, and they still are by our side any time we need to reach out."

"Group is a safe haven, a place to get out of the storm. A place of comfort where you are encircled with the love and understanding of others who are going through the same devastating heartbreak of losing a child."

For more information about the meetings call 660-627-9711.

Grief of Aging Support Group

A monthly meeting where participants explore dealing with the reality of getting older.

Jennifer Finley, Hospice of Northeast Missouri’s Spiritual Care & Bereavement Coordinator, and Diane Johnson, Hospice volunteer and retired communication faculty at Truman State, facilitate a monthly meeting where participants explore dealing with getting older and experiencing the reality of “life is NOT what I thought it would be when I got to this point.” Many of us had lots of plans for those later years, but instead are dealing with physical issues that keep us from doing all the things we want to do.

When: Third Tuesday of each month

Time: 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

Where: Hospice of Northeast Missouri Conference Room (lower level of Alliant Bank)
201 S. Baltimore St., Kirksville, MO 63501

All are welcome to attend.  Questions may be directed to Jennifer at 660-627-9711.

Sponsored by Hospice of Northeast Missouri, a service of Hannibal Regional, the only nonprofit hospice health care service in northeast Missouri that focuses on quality of life for people and their caregivers who are experiencing an advanced, life-limiting illness. Hospice of Northeast Missouri, a partner agency of the United Way of Northeast Missouri, serves Adair, Clark, Knox, Lewis, Macon, Putnam, Schuyler, Scotland, Sullivan, and Shelby counties.