Nonprofit Offers COVID-19 Support Group For Anyone Grieving The Loss Of A Loved One

The Grief Center in Tulsa is offering a COVID-19 support group for people who have lost loved ones during the pandemic.

The counselor leading the group said he wants people to know they aren't alone.

"Our grief is in proportion to the love and the relationship we had with the person," said Counselor Timothy Dearhamer with The Grief Center.

Grief is complicated, it is messy, and it looks different for everyone.

"We as Americans do not talk about grief and even when we do, we don't talk about it very well," said Dearhamer.

Dearhamer said the lack of conversation about the realities of grief can leave some people feeling like they aren't healing fast enough, but the truth is, there is no timeline.

"A lot of people come in and leave thankful that they are not crazy," said Dearhamer.

The Grief Center is a nonprofit that provides professional counseling for people experiencing all kinds of grief. You can go to individual counseling or group sessions.

"We have a spouse loss group, a child loss group, survivors of suicide loss group, a pregnancy and infant loss group and of course our COVID-19 loss group," said Carolyn Yoder with The Grief Center.

Dearhamer leads the COVID-19 loss group. He said he works with families who couldn't say goodbye, others who weren't able to have a funeral; even families who feel their loss has been politicized right along with the pandemic.

"It is the most public-not public grief I have ever seen because we talk about it constantly, yet there is almost a sense of like, shame, I think that this has happened. There is a lot of anger because it feels very preventable," said Dearhamer.

It is not just families who have lost someone from COVID-19 who are coming to the group, it's frontline workers who have seen more than most of us could imagine.

"They have just never seen the amount of death that they have seen. It is a marvel that some of them continue to function, to be honest," said Dearhamer.

The Grief Center doesn't turn people away who can't pay, so if your grief is getting in the way of your ability to function, you can always ask for help.

You can get connected with The Grief Center here.