Tristesse Center Of Tulsa Helps The Grieving Recover

The Tristesse Grief Center provides the kind of counseling those facing a painful loss often need. Next month will mark 10 years of making a difference for thousands of people in Northeast Oklahoma.

The Grief Center has counseling, educational materials, support groups and much more for people who need somewhere to turn.

For Tulsa resident Lexi Inman, it's been the best thing for her during the worst year of her life. When her boyfriend Dylan fell in March, broke his neck and died suddenly, she was heartbroken and lost.

"it's scary. It's a very lonely feeling," Lexi said.

She turned to the Tristesse Grief Center of Tulsa for help, getting the grief counseling she needed.

"It's good to know there's a place to come where you can talk about how you feel and feel safe about it and know also that what you feel isn't strange, it's normal," she said.

The grief center, a non-profit, offers a wide range of services to help people and was inspired by a little girl with terminal cancer.

"A young lady by the name of Tristesse, and she actually had cancer for many, many years," said Executive Director Susan Bramsch.

"She was most concerned about her mother, a single mother with no other children. She was concerned how her mother would go on and how her mother would cope and adjust after she died."

Ten years later, the center provides 20,000 hours of counseling a year.

At first, Lexi came twice a week. Now it's less as she gets stronger.

"It's good to have a professional on your side to back you and to tell you where to go," said Tulsa resident Lexi Inman, whose boyfriend died suddenly this year.

One year ago, the center started going into schools to help students who are grieving, including Jenks which recently lost three students. The centers' executive director hopes to reach more students.

"it's very, very important. Don't try to do it on your own. It's very important to talk to someone," Bramsch said.

Lexi Inman knows what it is like, feeling like there's nowhere to turn. She hopes others don't hesitate to take advantage of the services the Grief Center offers.

"it's comforting to know that there is somebody holding you up if you can't do it," she said.

The grief center is for all ages. The costs are covered by donations to the non profit and on an inexpensive, sliding scale based on income.

The number for more information or to get help is 918-587-1200.