Managing grief is difficult. While we want so desperately to forget the pain of losing a loved one or friend, we have the fear of forgetting them.
That’s where centers like the Community Grief Center can help community members who are having challenges maneuvering through the grief process.
“Someone asked why we have a grief center, and the question should be ‘why shouldn’t we have a grief center?’ ” John Seitz, board president said.
The center, located at 4650 W. 20th St. in Greeley, hosts a variety of programs and events for the community at no cost to attendees of the center.
“Of course we get grants, we fundraise and we get donations, but all of the services are free,” said DeeAnne Zuhlke, executive director. “A lot of the work we do is grief support and grief groups.”
The center offers specific groups for widows and widowers, parents, spouses, and people who have lost a child due to miscarriage as well as family grief groups, blended grief groups and one for specific to suicide loss. The center even has a group for people who are struggling with the loss of a pet.
Some groups are open and anyone can attend anytime while other groups can be as long as eight weeks with the same attendees.
“We have all these different pockets. We are doing a COVID one for people who have lost somebody to COVID because we know that brings its own challenges,” Zuhlke said. “We also do one-on-one companioning and a clinical psychologist.”
Clients of the center can attend group or one-on-one meetings as often as they feel the need, whether that is once per week, once per month or even once every six months or year.
“Society is good about giving us a week, three weeks, three months when we experience a loss and by then it’s like ‘ok, let’s get back to our normal routine’ and the support starts to leave. The world goes by fast but they are still in slow motion,” Zuhlke said. “There’s so much pressure on how to do it right, but there’s no guide really. You can have a family of five who lost the same person and each of them will grieve differently because that person meant something different to each one.”
One such event was the Night of Lights and Celebration that took place Saturday at the center.
The event welcomed adults, teens and children of all ages to come together to honor people they’ve lost by enjoying live music by Rev. John Knutson and UNC student Tessa Espinosa, bubbles and ice cream. The center’s therapy dog, Otis, was also on site to help attendees through their pain.
“It’s just a way for people to come together, especially the people who have been in programs,” Zuhlke said. “But it’s open to everybody who is grieving in the community.
“Healing doesn’t mean forgetting,” she added.
Tiffany Skoglund, a board member, spoke to the group about her experiences with losing loved ones and how the center helped her to process her grief. It was the first time Skoglund shared her story with anyone other than her inner circle or members of her grief group.
“I can tell you, it was the one night that I looked forward to every week. In that room of people there was no judgement on how we dealt with our grief or how many years I had decided to push it down,” she explained. “You can get through really tough times and it’s OK.There’s no direction on how to grieve. You’re doing it the right way because it’s your journey, so stay on your journey and know you’re not alone.”
Once the sun set and the stars appeared, each person in attendance was given a small light to hold in honor of their loved one. The group stood side by side in a circle while Espinosa sang “Hallelujah.”
Some people wiped tears from their eyes while others rocked slowly from side to side, thinking of the person they were honoring. Others held hands or hugged each other and all in attendance shared different, yet in a way similar pain from their losses.
The event previously was the center’s Balloon Glow event, but Zuhlke and center staff decided that setting off the balloons wasn’t the most environmentally friendly way to honor lost loved ones and family members and reformatted the celebration for 2021. Zuhlke and the center’s board are looking to make the Night of Lights and Celebration an annual event and hoping to see more and more people coming out to participate.
The event was also a way for the center to show off its new location to the public. The center offers a large meeting area where groups can gather as well as smaller rooms for its children and teen programs.
For more information on the Community Grief Center and the programs offered, go to www.communitygriefcenter.org.
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June 20, 2021 at 08:08PM
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Community Grief Center hosts Night of Lights and Celebration - Greeley Tribune
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