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Healing Hearts: Support Groups for Grieving Mothers

Find Compassion, Understanding, and Hope Among Grieving Mothers Who Share Your Journey 

These support groups for grieving mothers who have lost children to suicide are designed to offer friendship, guidance, and hope after a heartbreaking loss. Groups are small, private, and led by experienced facilitators who are experts in the field of suicide loss.

Continue your journey of healing with others who truly understand your loss. This is a place where you can speak your child’s name and share your story without judgment. During your group sessions, you can expect:

  • Empathy and Understanding: Connect with others who have walked in your shoes. Here, you are not alone.
  • Guided Conversations: Our sessions are led by trained facilitators who provide gentle guidance, ensuring that every voice is heard.
  • Shared Experiences: Find comfort in the shared experiences of others who have navigated similar paths of grief and healing.
  • Safe and Supportive Environment: Our experienced facilitators ensure that this closed group of 10 women maintains a safe and healing atmosphere for all. Meet with the same women over the course of four months.

healing hearts: support groups for grieving mothers

Support Group Meeting Details

Our Healing Hearts Support Groups for Grieving Mothers are open to any mother grieving the loss of a child to suicide, provided they are at least four months out from their loss at the time the group begins.

  • What: Eight Sessions, 90 minutes long, every other week 
  • Where: Online via Zoom
  • Note: These are “closed” rather than “drop-in” support groups. This means you travel the grief journey with the same people every session.
  • Cost: $280

Choose the group that best fits you and your schedule:

Tuesdays – Registration Opens July 1st

  • September 9 thru December 16
  • 7 pm (ET) 
  • Sept 9 & 23 / Oct 7 & 21 / Nov 4 & 18 / Dec 2 & 16

Exclusive to Tuesdays, this group offers a few gentle movements and meditative exercises – done from a chair or standing, in addition to traditional group sharing.  

Meet your group facilitators:

Susan Anderson

Susan Andersen

A group facilitator specializing in Yoga for Grief, Susan incorporates gentle movements and meditation with traditional group sharing. She lost her son Ian to suicide in 2012.

Jeannine Pembroke

Jeannine Pembroke

Senior Moderator and Group Facilitator at the Alliance of Hope forum, Jeannine provides compassionate support, drawing from her own experience of losing her son Jared to suicide in 2017.

Wednesdays – Registration Opens July 1st

  • October 8 thru January 21
  • 3 pm (ET) 
  • Oct 8 & 22 / Nov 5 & 19 / Dec 3 & 17 / Jan 7 & 21

Exclusive to Wednesdays, this group offers the opportunity to tap into the wisdom of two experienced support group leaders who have worked with hundreds of loss survivors.

Meet your group facilitators:

Jaletta Desmond

Jaletta Desmond

Jaletta brings over a decade of experience facilitating grief support groups, educating communities, and empowering others to find healing and hope. Jaletta lost her teenage daughter Jocelyn to suicide in 2012.

Judith Sebastian

Judith Sebastian

Senior Moderator and Group Facilitator at Alliance of Hope, Judith offers compassionate guidance, drawing from her experience of losing her son David to suicide in 2019.

Thursdays – Registration Opens July 1st

  • September 11 thru December 18 
  • 7 pm (ET)
  • Sept 11 & 25 / Oct 9 & 23 / Nov 6 & 20 / Dec 4 & 18

Exclusive to Thursdays, this group is for women who have lost their only child.

Meet your group facilitators:

Maria Sallese

Maria Sallese

Alliance of Hope’s Assistant Forum Manager, blog editor, and group facilitator, Maria, provides support grounded in her experience of losing her only child, Mario, to suicide in 2019.

Ronnie Susan Walker, MS, LCPC

Ronnie Susan Walker, MS, LCPC

Founder and Executive Director of Alliance of Hope, Ronnie brings her experience as a mental health clinician and loss survivor, having lost her stepson Chan in 1995.

Meet your group facilitators:

Susan Anderson

Susan Andersen

A group facilitator specializing in Yoga for Grief, Susan incorporates gentle movements and meditation with traditional group sharing. She lost her son Ian to suicide in 2012.

Jeannine Pembroke

Jeannine Pembroke

Senior Moderator and Group Facilitator at the Alliance of Hope forum, Jeannine provides compassionate support, drawing from her own experience of losing her son Jared to suicide in 2017.

Meet your group facilitators:

Jaletta Desmond

Jaletta Desmond

Jaletta brings over a decade of experience facilitating grief support groups, educating communities, and empowering others to find healing and hope. Jaletta lost her teenage daughter Jocelyn to suicide in 2012.

Judith Sebastian

Judith Sebastian

Senior Moderator and Group Facilitator at Alliance of Hope, Judith offers compassionate guidance, drawing from her experience of losing her son David to suicide in 2019.

Meet your group facilitators:

Maria Sallese

Maria Sallese

Alliance of Hope’s Assistant Forum Manager, blog editor, and group facilitator, Maria, provides support grounded in her experience of losing her only child, Mario, to suicide in 2019.

Ronnie Susan Walker, MS, LCPC

Ronnie Susan Walker, MS, LCPC

Founder and Executive Director of Alliance of Hope, Ronnie brings her experience as a mental health clinician and loss survivor, having lost her stepson Chan in 1995.

How to Join

Our Healing Hearts Support Groups for Grieving Mothers are open to any mother grieving the loss of a child to suicide who is more than four (4) months out from their loss at the start of the program. To join, simply register for one of the three groups using the link below. 

Once registered, a support group facilitator will reach out directly to schedule a one-on-one conversation about the group to ensure it’s right for you. You will then receive all the necessary information to participate, including the Zoom details, via email.

 Registration for our Fall Groups will open on July 1st.

 Join the Tuesday Group Join the Wednesday Group Join the Thursday Group 

Disclaimer: This program offers a safe space to connect with fellow survivors and explore helpful concepts for healing. It is not a substitute for ongoing medical or mental health care, nor is it intended for managing serious mental illnesses.