The Compassionate Friends offers more than 600 meeting locations around the country. In small towns and large cities, bereaved parents, siblings, and grandparents meet together to talk, listen, share, and provide emotional support for families that are dealing with the devastating death of a child. When you attend chapter sessions, you won’t find professionals running the meetings and giving advice. We are not therapists and we do not provide counseling. Everyone will be just like you, someone who is going through the natural grieving process. [Read More]

Chapter Locator

Use this chapter locator to find out information about chapters in your area. [Enter Here]

Forming Chapters

You’ve gone through perhaps the most difficult time of your life—the death of a child from your family whether a son/daughter, sister/brother, or grandson/granddaughter. It is possible you found support through a chapter of The Compassionate Friends where others who had experienced a similar loss but were, perhaps, further along in their grief helped you survive a time you thought unsurvivable.

You may have continued with the chapter in some role in chapter leadership, gaining strength, helping others. Yet you also see the need for a chapter in another location—perhaps closer to where you live. [Read More]

Frequently Asked Questions

It's only natural that before you attend, you'll have questions about what goes on at a chapter meeting. Here's the answer to some of the most common questions. [Learn More]

What to Expect

With more than 600 chapters of The Compassionate Friends across the United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico, there are a number of different chapter meeting formats. Chapter leaders and steering committees work together to determine how the sessions can best be structured to help both the newly bereaved and returning members in their area. [Read More]