An online grief support group, Angel Families Online LLC, whose website services over 600 families throughout the United States and several other countries across the world, now plans to set up physical offices in several localities. The main headquarters for Angel Families is in Farmington, Connecticut, which houses the first office and conducts local support under the name, Eternally-Loved.

The group originated with a handful of individuals who had created online memorials for their loved ones. The interactive features of these memorials allowed visitors to leave condolences or tributes and even contact the website owners by email. As each read the other’s stories and viewed photos of loved ones who had passed, friendships began to develop.

They started to organize and post their loved ones Birthdays and “Angel” dates (anniversary of death), so that others could visit the memorials on these difficult days and post their messages of support.

In September of 2006, Angel Families held it’s first “gathering”. It was a weekend event and was held at a hotel in Virginia Beach. Over 30 people attended from several US states including people as far away as California. “It was the first time my wife and I actually enjoyed ourselves since our son passed.” Mike Smart relates, “We were free to cry, laugh and talk about our loved ones knowing that everyone else in the room didn’t expect anything from us and they knew our pain, because they were going through a similar pain themselves.” The weekend included a memorial slideshow and a candle-lighting ceremony.

The group has come a long way from that first meeting. There have been several meetings in various states. The website, which was then hosted on free websites, now owns their own Dedicated Server and hosts their own memorial websites for their clients.

The new plan is to plant “Eternally-Loved” group support offices in several key areas. This will enable a more “hands on” immediate approach for support. It will also reach those people who can benefit from the same type of support but may not be comfortable with the computer.

Eternally-Loved offers one-on-one as well as group support. Individual support is offered by appointment. The duration and frequency of support is determined by the client and his or her needs. Support group meetings are held weekly. These groups are designed to meet the needs of people with similar experience. These include parents, children, grandparents, spouses, and friends. Websites, personalized DVD slideshow, personalized memorial gifts, memory cards and year books are just some of the products available.

Memory Walks, Balloon launches and Candle-Light ceremonies are also held regularly. Please visit http://eternally-loved.com and http://angelfamiliesonline.com or call us at 860-676-7736 for more information.

Grief has no time limits. A person may find themselves in need of someone to talk with regardless of how long it has been since their loss. Many times after the loss of a loved one, the survivors experience a change in their relationships. Some family members may feel it is time to get back to “normal”. They do not understand that for the person who is grieving, there is no going back to what others think is normal instead; we will never be the same.

Friends of the grieving individual may become uncomfortable. Some avoid any mention of their loved-one’s name, while others are full of advice and clichés. It may be difficult to watch others “move on” with life, while yours has virtually stood still. Holidays, birthdays and milestone events such as graduations and weddings may trigger deep feelings of grief and depression.

Many people who are having difficulty find comfort in relating to others who have experienced the same pain from a significant loss.

We, at Eternally-Loved, know this pain and we care. We are on this grief journey with you and “together” we can get through it. not “over” it…..we know there is no getting over it. Keeping our loved one’s memory alive is very important in easing the pain and depression. We focus on this and offer several ways to do just that.

Via EPR Network
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