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Caregiver & Grief Support

Grief support is available to hospice and palliative care families who have experienced the death of a loved one.

The death of a loved one can change your world forever. So much of how we define ourselves and what gives our lives meaning is a reflection of the people we deeply love. When they die, we question who we are without them and struggle to find meaning and purpose. Grief is the high price we pay for loving someone and can be felt mentally, emotionally and physically. If you are grieving or supporting someone who is grieving, we hope that you will find the following information to be helpful and comforting.

At Adoray Hospice, we believe that:

Grief is a normal and natural response to the death of a loved one.
Within each person is the innate capacity to heal.
The duration and intensity of the grief experience are unique for each person.
A supportive and caring environment can facilitate the process of healing.
We are here to support you. Please call 715.629.1888 or 800.359.0174 to speak with a grief and loss expert or explore our website for additional information and resources.
Rev Theresa Riewestahl, MDIV Chaplain and Grief Support Coordinator can be contacted at t.riewestahl@adorayhomecare.org

Let Us Help

Adoray’s philosophy of bereavement support encourages the expression of grief through listening, normalizing and validating an individual’s unique experience. An important part of our mission at Adoray is our strong commitment to serving those who have been touched by loss. Our bereavement program is comprehensive, diverse and tailored to meet the needs of our families.

Services Provided:

Check-in Phone Calls
Remembrance Programs
GriefWords Library
Visits (when requested)
Chaplain Support
Information on Grief Support Groups (info at bottom of this page)
Referrals to Community and Online Resources
Educational Presentations
Adoray’s “Beyond the Wings” Grief Support Newsletter (mailed out quarterly)

View recent 'Beyond the Wings'! - Spring 2020

Grief Support Resources

Please use this section of our website to explore outside resources on grief healing for adults, children, and families.

Grief Resources:

NHPCO Care Connections
Hospice Foundation of America
Hospicejourney.org

Grieving Children and Teens:

The Dougy Center-The National Center for Grieving Children and Families
National Alliance for Grieving Children
Hello Grief

Parents Grieving the Loss of a Child:

Compassionate Friends
Faith’s Lodge

Grief and the Holidays:

Grief.com
Three Cs for Holiday Grief
GriefNet.org
Grief Share

Grief Support Groups

Many people find that sharing their grief with those who have also experienced the loss of a loved one can bring comfort, encouragement and healing. Following are a list of grief support groups operating Adoray’s service area, all are free of charge:

Amery – Grief Share
Location: St. Joseph’s Catholic Church
Date and Time: Thursday Evenings 6:30 – 8:00pm. Beginning again in February 2020, please check back for the date.
This group meets weekly for 13 weeks and participants may join in at any time. Please contact the group facilitator to confirm dates and time, to register, or for more information about GriefShare.
Contact: Rosemary at 715-651-5684

Baldwin – Paths to Peace Support Group Six Week Session
Location: Village Church Offices, 990 Hillcrest Street, Baldwin
Date and Time: Mondays, March 16 – April 20 6:00-7:30pm .
Please consider joining us...Paths to Peace Grief Support Group offers a caring environment and helpful strategies for taking a few more steps toward healing our broken hearts. This support group is facilitated by Kathleen Helgeson, MA CFLE, in partnership with the O’Connell Family Funeral Homes.
Contact: O’Connell Funeral Home 715-385-3725 or info@oconnellfuneralhomes.com

Dresser – Grief Share
Location: New Life Christian Community Church
Date and Time: Group currently not meeting in person - Please reach out to contact for questions.
This group meets weekly for 13 weeks and participants may join in at any time. Please contact the church office or group facilitator to confirm dates and times, to register, or for more information about GriefShare.
Contact: Connie at 715-201-2295 or conjoh1@gmail.com

Hudson – Community Grief Support Group
Location: Marie Blakeman Community Center, 1320 Wisconsin Street, Hudson
Date and Time: Meets weekly on Thursdays, 7:00 to 8:30pm.
This is a non-denominational group for grieving adults which meets on a regular basis. Contact the group facilitator with questions or to confirm a meeting date.
Contact: Bonnie at 715-381-3099 or 715-381-5120

Hudson – Paths to Peace Support Group Six Week Session
Location: Faith Community Church, 777 Carmichael Road, Hudson
Date and Time: Mondays, March 16 – April 20 1:00 – 2:30pm.
Please consider joining us...Paths to Peace Grief Support Group offers a caring environment and helpful strategies for taking a few more steps toward healing our broken hearts. This support group is facilitated by Kathleen Helgeson, MA CFLE, in partnership with the O’Connell Family Funeral Homes.
Contact: O’Connell Funeral Home 715-385-3725 or info@oconnellfuneralhomes.com

New Richmond – Bakken-Young Six Week Session
Location: New Richmond United Methodist Church, 209 E Second Street, New Richmond, WI 54701. Use entrance off alley.
Date and Time: Mondays, February 3, 10,17, 24, March 2, 9, 2020 from 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm.
Bakken-Young Funeral & Cremation Services offers a six-week grief support group for adults who are grieving the death of a loved one. Anyone is welcome to participate in the group and the sessions are free. To register please rsvp by email at: julia.rajtar@bakken-young.com or text or call: 715-781-4003 by Friday, January 31, 2020.
Contact: Julia Rajtar, M.A.P.S., BCC Grief Support Coordinator. To register please rsvp by email at: julia.rajtar@bakken-young.com or call: 715-781-4003

New Richmond – Grief Share
Location: Cornerstone Assembly of God | 1350 Heritage Drive, New Richmond, WI
Date and Time: Tuesdays from 6:30-8:30PM | September 3 - November 26, 2019.
Help and encouragement after the death of a spouse, child, family member, or friend.
Each participant will receive a workbook that will guide through the series. E-mail pre-registration accepted. A $20.00 registration fee is requested to cover the cost of materials.
Contact: Call 715.505.8136 or email griefshare@cornerstonenr.org

Prescott – O’Connell Benedict
Location: The Senior Gathering Place, 1220 St. Croix Street, Prescott
Date and Time: Please check back for Spring 2020 dates or contact O’Connell Benedict Funeral Home .
Anyone is welcome to participate in the group. Registration is not required but appreciated.
Contact: O’Connell-Benedict Family Funeral Home 715-262-5404

River Falls – Bakken-Young Six Week Session
Location: St. Bridget Catholic Church, 211 East Division Street, River Falls
Date and Time: Mondays, March 23, 30, April 6, 13, 20, 27, 2020 from 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm.
Bakken-Young Funeral & Cremation Services offers a six-week grief support group for adults who are grieving the death of a loved one. Anyone is welcome to participate in the group and the sessions are free. To register please rsvp by email at: julia.rajtar@bakken-young.com or text or call: 715-781-4003 by Friday, March 20, 2020.
Contact: Julia Rajtar, M.A.P.S., BCC Grief Support Coordinator. To register please rsvp by email at: julia.rajtar@bakken-young.com or call: 715-781-4003

St. Croix Falls – Grief Support Group Six Week Session
Location: St. Croix Falls Regional Medical Center, 235 E State St, St. Croix Falls
Date and Time: June 29 - August 3 (Group currently not meeting in person - Please reach out to contact below for questions).
You are invited to join us for support and encouragement along the way as you work through your journey of grief and loss. Afternoon meetings are held in the Valley Conference Room and the Evening’s first meeting will be held in the Glacier Conference Room. Pre-registration is requested and for questions or more information, please contact the group facilitator, Kevin Schumann.
Contact: Kevin Schumann, SCRMC Chaplain. To register please rsvp call: 715-483-3261 ext. 2016 or email at: kevin.schumann@scrmc.org

If you know of other bereavement support groups in the community and would like to be listed as a resource, please contact Rev Theresa Riewestahl, MDIV Chaplain and Grief Support Coordinator at 715.629.1888 or 800.359.0174 or email her at t.riewestahl@adorayhomecare.org.

Remembrance Programs

Grief can shake us to our very core. Yet, it is an experience common to all of humanity. Remembering together can be a significant part of finding our way along the grief journey and fostering continuing bonds with our loved ones.

Each year, Adoray sponsors events to honor the lives of those who have been important to you. Remembering is made up of so much — happy times, sad times, lessons taught, lessons learned, the things we are grateful for as well as the things we could have done without. All of these thing are part of keeping memories real and alive in our hearts and minds.

Annual Memorial Service:

Adoray’s Annual Memorial Service is a beautiful non-denominational service and remembrance. During this memorial celebration we listen to healing music and readings, and share stories about our loved ones who’ve had life endings.

Our Annual Memorial Service is currently postponed, please check back for updates
Location: The Deerfield – Chapel
We encourage family and friends alike to join us for this special event as we honor loved ones with music, messages, readings, and prayers.
*THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC*
If you have any questions about this event please contact Dorothy Washington at 715.629.1906.

Silent Nights: Holiday Help for Grieving Hearts:

When the holiday season is touched with the grief of a recent or past loss, moments shared with family and friends or encountered alone can be tender, bittersweet, sorrowful, peaceful, lonely, comforting…

These paradoxes of the grief experience can be a new and disconcerting part of your holiday experience. Adoray offers a holiday grief support event which includes information about preparing for the holidays, an opportunity to share about your loved one and create a memento in their honor.

December 1st and 3rd, 2020
Location: December 1st at St. Croix Regional Medical Center (Riverbend Conference Rm) & December 3rd at Western Wisconsin Health (Conference Rm 1)

*THIS EVENT IS OPEN TO THE PUBLIC*
If you have any questions about this event please contact Dorothy Washington at 715.629.1906.

Testimonials

I want to thank you again for all the kind, considerate and wise support you have offered me in the past 13 months. You always had the best "pearls" in words at each stage of my grief. I know I'm not "there" yet, but those "pearls" surface and help me embrace my feelings.
– wife of a hospice patient

hank you for the kind and thoughtful ways you have shown me light and hope. From tears to dreams you accept it all, with grace and understanding. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Like the bird in the tree we can, I can, weather life's storms and losses.
– wife of a hospice patient

Our heartfelt thanks for all your kindness in caring for my mother during her illness and death. I know it was a great comfort to my Mom to have you folks involved with her care. There was also comfort for us in having some of the same people who cared for my Dad. Thanks also for coming to the memorial service, it was much appreciated and makes it obvious that you are part of a loving process of caring for the dying person and family, and not just running a business. Keep up the fine work!
– son of a hospice patient

Thank you for your help and support these last couple of months while [our loved one] has been in hospice. You have all been very supportive, loving and kind while caring for [him] in his final days on this earth. Thank you also for the beautiful rose arrangement and grief support materials.
– wife and family of a hospice patient

I had no idea how much your support would mean to us at the end of my wife’s life. Having Adoray and your kind people was like a warm light from heaven above during my wife’s last few days. Your people were comforting and very loving during this most difficult time.
– husband of a hospice patient

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