‘I No Longer Feel Alone In My Grief’: ADRC’s Grief Support Group Forms Community Of Its Own
weekly meetings at Menomonie senior center are open to anyone who may be in need of a space to grieve, process
Grief. It’s one of those things most are familiar with in concept but can manifest in different ways for different people, and can be difficult to experience on your own. That sentiment is the foundation of the Dunn County Aging & Disability Resource Center’s (ADRC) Grief Support Group program.
For many group attendees, Monday afternoons have turned into an anchor while experiencing grief. The Grief Support Group meets at the Menomonie Senior Center (1412 6th St. E, Menomonie) weekly at noon, often chatting – or just listening.
“We start each group with check-ins about how everyone’s week has been. From those check-ins, discussion and conversation flows,” ADRC Outreach-Caregiver Coordinator Casey Schnacky said. “People talk about things they are going through and what they have felt like may have been a struggle or success.”
Partially due to the day and time meetings occur, most attendees are 60 or older, Schnacky said, and a core group attends every week.
Schnacky described the meetings as respectful, open places with a built-in acknowledgement that what is discussed during the group, stays in the group. No one is expected to speak if they don’t want to.
Mondays at the Senior Center, the ADRC program brings us all together – a place to be us! We cry a lot. We laugh a lot. ... We solve problems together because we understand each other. This is all done by sitting around a table with strangers that soon become your friends, over a cup of coffee, water, and most likely treats on the table. –Grief Support Group attendee, L.D.
One attendee (who will be referred to, as all group members who provided comment will be, by their initials), who started attending Grief Support Group after moving to the area, affirmed the group’s welcoming atmosphere.
“I was the new person in town so making that first step was very hard for me,” J.P. said. “To my surprise, I was welcomed with open arms. This great group of people are helping me cope and manage through the grief I’m experiencing and the guilt I’m having.
“I can’t wait for Mondays because now I have a new family of friends. I highly recommend to anyone needing help recovering from the loss of a loved one to consider joining the group.”
Another member echoed J.P.’s thoughts, candidly describing the up-and-down nature of grief – and how the Grief Support Group has positively impacted them.
“It is a group of people all there for the same reason. We have lost a loved one. We mourn daily, hourly, 24/7,” L.D. said. “Mondays at the Senior Center, the ADRC program brings us all together – a place to be us! We cry a lot. We laugh a lot. … We solve problems together because we understand each other.
“This is all done by sitting around a table with strangers that soon become your friends, over a cup of coffee, water, and most likely treats on the table,” L.D. said. “This group has gotten me through a very rough time, and without them, I am not sure where I would be today.”
I no longer feel alone in my grief. I have found others who understand and together we have created a community for support for each other. I belong here! –Grief Support Group attendee, J.F.
The Grief Support Group’s members have also been able to provide insight to help shape another grief-focused program with the ADRC: Experiencing Grief Well.
Brought to life by Grief Support Specialist Teresa Pejsa and the Dunn County ADRC, the Experiencing Grief Well group will meet once a week for a total of five weeks during the evening, each with a specific topic to guide conversation.
Still, the Grief Support Group will continue its Monday afternoon meetings, and regular attendees encourage others who may be in need of support to come by.
“The ADRC Grief Support Group is a safe, nonjudgemental place to be able to tell your stories of loss and listen to others tell their stories of loss and to support each other on your journeys,” group member J.F. shared. “I no longer feel alone in my grief. I have found others who understand and together we have created a community of support for each other. I belong here!”
Free to attend at the Menomonie Senior Center, the Grief Support Group will continue welcoming anyone who is in need of support or space to grieve. If current members’ testimonials are proof, it is clear the group has become a community of its own – where all are welcome.
"Grief," a poem about the local Grief Support Group program, submitted by a group member:
What a dreadful place
This was to be
When my world was
Slipping away from meBut...
Friends here I've found
Who understand grief
Our talks may be lengthy
or perhaps even briefWhatever our needs are
This I have found,
That laughing or crying
or goofing aroundWe're much happier folks
Than when we first came
Each ready for what comes
Fresh down the lane
–AK
Learn more about the Shirley Doane Senior Center in Menomonie (1412 6th St. E) online. Inquiries about the Grief Support Group can be made by phone (715) 235-0954.
